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REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES ^ 



EBENEZER FOX, 



OP 



ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS. 



- » 






_^_ 


-^^ 




I. 




BOSTON: 




PUBLISHED BY MDNROE & 


FRANCIS. 




\- 


1838. 








/*. 



ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE 
YEAR 1838^ BY CHARLES FOX, IN THE CLERK's OF- 
FICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF 
MASSACHUSETTS. 



33; -^ 



PREFACE. 



''■ Grandfather," said my eldest grand- 
child, last Thanksgiving eve, " T wish you 
would relate to us all your revolutionary sto- 
ries. You have told us a great many stories, 
but we wish very much to hear the whole at 
once.'' 

In this request the second joined, who was 
soon followed by the third, while the fourth 
caught me by the hand, saying, " Do, 
grandpa, tell us something about the war." 
" O yes, do, grandpa," said the fifth ; while 
the next, a httle boy of three, jumped up on 
my knee, and lisped out his request that I 
would tell a story ; and the baby, making her 
way into the circle, added to the clamor witli 
the most articulate sounds she could utter ; 
and then all seven joined in one grand chorus, 
though not in unison, and the burden of the 
song w^as, " Do tell us )^our revolutionary ad- 
ventures." 



IV PREFACE. 

Now I love nothing better, than giving 
pleasure to children ; and, although this was 
rather a comprehensive request, I at length 
consented to give them a connected recital of 
the adventures of my youth, during a time 
when every thing was interesting to those 
who love excitement and action. 

Accordingly, when the young folks had tired 
themselves with " bhnd man's buff" and va- 
rious other games, with which I am not ac- 
quainted, they formed a circle round the fire 
and called on me for the fulfilment of my 
promise. 

But to their great disappointment, 1 soon 
found that a troublesome cough, which I had 
in the winter, effectually prevented my giving 
them any thing hke the connected narrative 
they were so desirous to hear. 

They all expressed so much regret at being 
deprived of their anticipated pleasure, and it 
seemed so unUkely that I should be any better 
able to gratify them, that I at length conclu- 
ded to commit n)y adventures to writing, and 
give the manuscript to one of my grandchil- 
dren to read to the others. 



PREFACE. V 

This decision met with general approbation, 
and I commenced my task. 

Though I am an old man of seventy-five, 
I am an earKer riser than most of my grand- 
children, and was generally up an hour or 
two before sunrise in the winter, and used to 
tell them at breakfast, that 1 had written sev- 
eral pages before they were awake. 

As I had nothing to interrupt me, and the 
reminiscences of my younger days proved very 
interesting to myself, I was able to recollect 
much more than 1 expected I should ; for the 
events which occur in our youth, especially 
such as it has been my lot to participate in, 
make a much more lasting impression on our 
minds, than those of a later period, when we 
have become more accustomed to the vicissi- 
tudes of life. 

One circumstance after another revived in 
my memory, and was detailed on paper, — • 
until I found that my manuscript had in- 
creased to a much larger size, than I, or those 
for whose pleasure it was written, had an- 
ticipated. 

At last, to their great delight, it w^as com- 
pleted ; and was received with so much ap- 



VI PREFACE. 

probation by the young auditors, that it was 
thought it might be interesting to maturer 
minds ; and it was lent to several friends, 
who expressed so favorable an opinion of it, 
and were so desirous that I should give the 
public an account of my revolutionary adven- 
tures, that I have consented to prepare for the 
press the manuscript originally intended for 
my own family, with the hope that it may 
prove as interesting to the rising generation, 
as it has to my own grandchildren. 

Should it be thought that my simple narra- 
tive does not contain matter of importance 
sufficient to interest the reader, I can only 
say, that the partial judgment of friends, and 
my belief tliat any circumstances relating to 
the most interesting period of our history 
would prove entertaining to the young, must 
be my excuse for presenting it to the pubhc. 



EEYOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



OF 



EBENEZER FOX 



iNTRODUCTION. 

The year 1763, in which I was born, was 
signalised by the conclusion of the treaty of 
peace between England and France, at the 
termination of the long and harassing war, 
known as the ^' Old French War." 

The colonies had borne the foremost part 
in the conflict, with very slight assistance from 
the mother country ; and as their men and 
money had been freely contributed, and every 
demand of the English government promptly 
complied with, the close of th^ war found the 



b REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

colonies in a state of great depression, impov- 
erished and dispirited. 

Throughout the country, hardly a town 
could be found, which had not sent out its 
little band of warriors, or aided in defraying 
the expenses of the soldiers, and many had 
lost relatives or friends in the prolonged con- 
test ; while those who returned to their homes 
were, many of them, sick and enfeebled from 
the exposure and hardships which they had 
encountered. 

It would have seemed but just and reasona- 
ble, that the scarcity of money and the con- 
dition of business should have exempted the 
colonies from the additional burden of tax- 
ation. 

But such was not the opinion of the British 
ministry. Although the colonies had until 
this period been permitted to tax themselves, 
without the interference of England, parlia- 
ment now, with an apparent determination to 
reduce them to the lowest condition of servi- 
tude, passed an act in 1764, which imposed a 
duty on several articles, and the preamble to 
which was in these words : 

" Whereas it is just and necessary, that a 



OF EBENEZER FOX, 9^ 

revenue be raised in America, for clefra3nng 
the expenses of defending^ fvoiecting^ and 
securing ihe same, we, the commons," &c. 
&c. 

The colonies considered this a<:t extremelj 
imjust and arbitrary ; but, while they would 
not admit the right to tax them,, it was sub- 
mitted to, though not in silence. 

The patience of the colonists, and their 
respect for their own righls, were insulted in 
the following year by the passage of the fa- 
mous stamp actj w^hich effectually aroused the 
spirit of liberty in every American bosom, and 
excited so universal a storm of indignation 
throughout the country, that the English par- 
liament felt obHged to repeal it. 

The satisfaction of the colonies was of short 
duration ; for, in 1767, an act was- passed^ 
imposing heavy duties on glass, paper, tea, 
&c. and was followed by several equally vex- 
atious, and the dissatisfaction of the people 
was renewed ; meetings were called in va- 
rious parts of the country, and resolution^ 
passed against the measures of the British 
government. 



10 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

Among many other insults against the 
feehngs of the people, the stationing of garri- 
sons in New- York and Boston were particu- 
larly obnoxious ; and in the former city, the 
house of assembly was suspended by the gov- 
ernor, for refusing to pass a bill supplying the 
soldiers with provisions, &c. 

In 1768, the arrival of two regiments of 
British soldiers in Boston, which were station- 
•ed in the State-House^ in consequence of the 
inhabitants refusing to furnish quarters for 
them, excited the most intense hatred and re- 
sentment against the tyranny and oppression 
of government, and was an insult to the house 
of their public assembly which could not be 
tolerated. 

The assembly, considering the peace and 
dignity of their house violated by the presence 
of British troops, refused to hold their council, 
unless the soldiers were removed. 

The governor therefore adjourned them to 
Cambridge, and demanded a supply of money 
for the troops, which was of course refused, as 
derogatory to the dignity of the Province. 

In 1769, parliament, as if resolved to try 
every sort of insult, in an address to the king, 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 11 

requested him to give orders to the governor 
of Massachusetts, — which had shown a more 
determined spirit of resistance than any other 
colony, — to send all who might be guilty of 
treason to England, that they might be 
tried there. . . 

The house of burgesses of Virginia met soon 
after, and passed a resolution, " denying the 
right of his majesty to remove an offender out 
of the country for trial." The next day the 
governor dissolved the house. The assembly 
of North-Oarohna followed the example, and 
were likewise dissolved by their governor. 

In 1770, on the fifth of March, a violent 
tumult, produced by an affray between the 
soldiers and citizens, in which several of the 
latter were killed, still more enraged the peo- 
ple against these instruments of arbitrary 
power ; and the anniversary of this outrage 
was for several years commemorated by ad- 
dresses to the public, which served to keep 
awake the spirit of independence. 

The detested duty on tea was imposed in 
1773, and no American can forget how it 
was received^ particularly in Boston. 

In the same year England, desirous to crush 



12 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

the spirit of rebellion, as it was termed, decreed 
that all public officers should be rendered in- 
dependent of the colonies, by receiving their 
salaries directly from the crown, without the 
concurrence of the colonial assembhes. 

This measure, tending as it did to deprive 
the Americans of all their rights and to reduce 
them to mere bondsmen, increased instead of 
subduing the determination to secure the hb- 
erty of the country. 

Regular clubs were formed, each headed by 
a chief, in all the principal towns of Massa- 
chusetts, with a system of correspondence be- 
tween them ; and it became evident to all, 
that a conflict must soon take place between 
England and her wronged and insulted colo- 
nies. The other provinces followed the ex- 
ample of Massachusetts, and similar associa- 
tions were formed throughout the country. 

In retaliation for this, and similar manifes- 
tations of the determination to resist the Brit- 
ish government, the " Boston Port Bill" was 
brought forward in parliament and passed, as 
a just punishment to that rebellious cityj 
w^hich had been foremost in rebellion. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 13 

Tn September, 1774, the first congress was 
convened, consisting of deputies from eleven 
of the colonies. 

This assembly agreed upon a declaration of 
their rights ; passed many important and 
spirited resolutions ; and, having-finished their 
business in less than eight weeks, dissolved 
themselves, recommending another congress 
to be convened on the tentli of May ensuing. 

No one, who is at all acquainted with the 
history of our country, needs to be reminded 
of the events which followed in the next year, 
the memorable 1775, which dates the com- 
mencement of our Revolution. 

An account of the action at Lexington was 
transmitted to Great-Britain by the provincial 
Congress of Massachusetts, which was then 
in session, and in conclusion they used tins 
language : 

" Appealing to Heaven for the justice of our 
cause, we determine to die, or be free." 

The battle at Lexington was followed in 
rapid succession by the taking of Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, and the Battle of Bunkcfs 
Hill, which taught England that it would be 
no easy task to repress, or resist, the spirit of 



14 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

liberty, which animated the heart of every 
American. 

From this time, the rebels^ as they were 
termed in England, daunted by no obstacle 
and discouraged by no dangers, went steadily 
forward in the great contest, which resulted in 
forcing our insolent oppressors to admit that 
Americans could not be conquered ; and 
obliging Great-Britain to acknowledge, and 
respect, the Independence of the people she 
had wantonly insulted and despised. 

From this rapid sketch of the period imme- 
diately preceding our Revolution, the facts of 
which are no doubt famiHar to every reader 
of American histor}^, it will be seen, that my 
childhood was passed in the midst of excite- 
ment, and every year was marked by events 
of the most intense and absorbing interest. 



OP EBENEZER FOX, 15 



CHAPTER L 



1 WAS born in the East Parish of Roxbur} ^ 
State of Massachusetts, January 30th, 1763. 

Nothing out of the ordinary course of hu- 
man events occurred, of v*iiich I have any 
recollection, until I arrived to the age of 
seven. 

My father^ who was a tailor, bein 2^ poor 
and having a large family^ tliought that my 
physical powers were adequate, at this lime of 
life, to my own maintenance ; and placed me 
under the care of a farmer named Pelhtim. 
The house in which that gentleman resided 
was situated in what was then called Rox- 
bury-Street.* 

* Mr. Pelham's house stood upon the spot now 
occupied by the store of Deacon Caleb Parker, jun. ; 
and his farm was the land near the Creek, belong- 
ing to the heirs of the late Rev. Dr. Porter. 

One day while employed in the field, I left my 
work, being alone, to try my skill at riding on horse- 
back ; and, while attempting to put on the bridle,, 
the horse suddenly bit a piece of flesh from my cheeky 
the scar of which is evident to this day. 



1'6 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTSURES 

With him I continued five years, perform- 
ing sucli services in the house and upon the 
farm as were adapted to my age and strength. 
I imagined however that I suffered many 
|3rivations and endured much hardship ; which 
was undoubtedly true, were my situation com- 
pared with that of ?many other boys of my age 
at that time, or in this more refined period. 
Boys are apt to complain of their lot, especial- 
ly when deprived of the indulgences of home. 
They do not estimate their advantages or dis- 
advantages by comparison ; but view them in 
the abstract, and judge their circumstances as 
the resuks of positive evil, when they might 
be considered as comparative blessings. 

I had for some time been dissatisfied with 
my situation, and was desirous of some 
change. I had made frequent complaints of 
a grievous nature to my father ; but he paid 
no attention to them, supposing that I had no 
just cause for them, and that they arose mere- 
ly from a spirit of discontent wliich would 
soon subside. 

Expressions of exasperated feeling against 
the government of Great-Britain, which had 
for a long time been indulged and pretty free- 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 17 

\y expressed, were now continually heard from 
the mouths of all classes ; from father and 
son, from mother and daughter, from master 
and slave. A spirit of disaffection pervaded 
the land ] groans and complaints, and injus- 
tice and wrongs were heard on .all sides. Vi- 
olence and tumult soon followed. 

Almost all w*lie conversation that came to 
i"ny ears rekted to the injustice of England 
and the tyranny of government. 

It is perfectly natural that the spirit of 
insuhordinatiofl, that prevailed, should spread 
among the younger members of the commu- 
nity ; that they, who were continually hear- 
ing complaints, should themselves become 
complainants. I, and otlier boys situated 
similarly to myself, thought we had wrongs 
to be redressed ; rig i its to be maintained ; 
and, as no one appeared disposed to act the 
part of a redresser, it was our duty and our 
privilege to assert our own rights. We made 
a direct application of the doctrines we daily 
heard^ in relation to the oppression of the 
mother country, to our own circumstances ; 
and thought that we were more oppressed than 
our fathers were. I thought that I was doing 



18 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

myself great injustice by remaining in bon- 
dage, when I ought to go free ; and that the 
time was come, when I should liberate myself 
from the thraldom of others, and set up a 
government of my own ; or, in otlier words, 
do what was right in the sight of my ov/n eyes. 

In all great undertakings a friend is need- 
ed, with whom we can advise and consult. 
Men expeiience this want, and seldom is any 
remarkable achievement effected alone and 
unaided. I felt the necessity of acting in uni- 
son with some one, who should be actuated 
by the same motives as myself, and have a 
similar object in view. 

I sought a friend, and found one in a com- 
panion with whom ] had long associated, 
John Kelley, who was a little older than my- 
self. To him I imparted my views and 
wishes in regard to future operations. 

We held many consultations in secret, and, 
mutual confidence being established, we came 
to the sage conclusion, that we were living in 
a state of servitude that ought to be scorned 
by the sons of freemen. 

In our opinion we were abundantly capable 
of providing for our own wants ; of assuming 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 19 

all the responsibilities of life ; and needed no 
protectors. 

Our plan was soon formed, which was 
nothing less than to furnish ourselves with 
whatever we thought indispensable for our 
undertaking, to leave home privatel}^, and 
take the most direct route to Providence, R. I. 
where we expected to find employment as 
sailors on board of some vessel. 

Our greatest trouble was to raise the means 
for the expedition. Having collected what 
few articles we possessed and securing them 
in two small bundles, we secreted them in a 
barn at some distance from our habitation. 

The place for our meeting was the steps of 
the church, which stood where the Rev. Mr. 
Putnam's now stands.* According to ap- 

* The Rev. Mr. Adams was llie j)astcr tliei;. 
Deacon Crafts, grandfather of Air. E. CraRs of 
Roxbury, used to read aloud one vcrt;e at a lirne of 
the psalm or hymn, which the choir would sing, and 
then wait till he had read another. 

Hymn-books were not in general use ; they were, 
some time after, in the pews of the v/ealtiiy part of 
the congregation. 

At a subsequent period, a kind cf mu-^ic, called 



20 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

pointinent, I found my friend Kelley on the 
spot at eight o'clock in the evening on the 
eighteenth of April, the night before the 
memorable battle of Lexington. 

Kelley 's first question to me was, ^' How 
much money have you got ?'' I replied, " A 
half a dollar." "That is just what I have 
got," said Kelley, " though I might have ta- 
ken as much as I wanted from the old tory ; 
but I thought [ would not take any more than 
what belonged to me." 

I know not whether this proceeded from 
Kelley's principle of honesty, or from a fear of 

Fugueing ttmes, was introduced ; and they had a 
literally fugueing effect upon the elder people, the 
greater part of whom went out of church as soon as 
the first verse was sung. 

I very well remember the first sabbath that the 
first bass-viol was used, as m\ accompaniment to the 
singing. The old pious people were horror-struck 
at what they considered a sacrilegious innovation^ 
and went out of meeting in high dudgeon. One old 
church member, I recollect, stood at the church-door, 
and showed his contempt for the music by making 
a sort of caterwauling noise, which he called 
" mocking the Banjo?^ 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 21 

pursuit, in pase he had embezzled any thing- 
whicli would render him an object worth 
pursuing. Kelley bad lived with a gentleman 
named Winslow, who was hi;^hly esteemed 
for his benevolence and other virtues ; but, be- 
ing a friend to the royal government, he w^as 
stigmatised with the epithet of " Tory," and 
considered an enemy to his country, and was 
finally obliged to leave the place when the 
British troops evacuated Boston. After spend- 
ing some time in making arrangements, w^e 
started about nine o'clock at night, and 
travelled till we arrived at Jamaica-Plain and 
stopped on the door-steps of the Rev. Dr. Gor- 
don's* church to rest ourselves and hold a 
consultation. 

We concluded to continue on our route, and 
directed our course to Dedham, where w^e ar- 
rived shortly after ten the same night. 

As I have observed, this was on the night 
previous to the battle of Lexington. At that 
time, much excitement prevailed in the pub- 
lic mind. Great anxiety was manifested in 
the country in the vicinity of Boston to know 

* Till within a few years the Rev. Dr. Gray's, 
now the Rev. Mr. Whitney's. 



22 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

what was going on tliere. People were out 
in all directions to hear tlie " news from 
town." As we were too young to be very 
well informed in regard to coming events, and 
were ignorant of the great plans in agitation, 
our fears induced us to think that the uncom- 
mon commotion that appeared to prevail 
must have some connexion with our escape, 
and that the moving multitudes we saw 
were in pursuit of us. Our consciences re- 
proved us a little for the step we had taken, 
and our fears magnified the dangers to which 
we were exposed. 

After making some cautious inquiries at 
Dedham, we directed our course to AYalpole 
with the intention of reaching it that night. 

About eleven o'clock, finding ourselves ex- 
cessively fotigued, we determined upon taking 
up our night's lodging on the ground by the 
side of a stone wall. 

With feelings of despondence 1 stretched 
myself upon the earth, with my bundle for a 
pillow, and observed to my companion, " This 
is hard lodging, Kelley, but we may have 
harder ;" little anticipating the hardship and 
suffering I was to endure in some succeeding 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 23 

years. After a cold and uncomfortable night's 
rest, we started before da}^, and reached Wal- 
pole about ten o'clock in the morning. 

Before we entered the village, we stopped 
at a tavern and called for a bowl of bread 
and milk, the price of which was three pence ; 
but the kind-hearted landlord refu&ed to take 
ony compensation. We now were constant- 
ly meeting with people, who, anxious to hear 
the news from Boston, frequently interrogated 
us respecting whence we came and whither 
we were going, (fcc. ; in answering which 
we adhered as nearly to the truth as our fears 
of discovery would permit. 

We stopped at Mann's tavern in Walpole, 
and here a multitude of people collected, hav- 
ing apparently some great object in agita- 
tion. Being seen coming in the direction 
from Boston, we were again assailed with 
more questions than we knew how to answer 
consistently with our safety. The tavern- 
keeper excited our apprehensions by abruptly 
asking us whither we were going ? 

" To seek our fortunes," we replied. 

" You have taken hard times for it," and 
he advised us to return home. 



24 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

During this conversation, the stage coacli 
from Boston arrived at the tavern, where the 
passengers were to dine. Tliey brought the 
news of the Lexington battle, with an exag- 
gerated account of a loss on the side of the 
British of two hundred men, and on that of 
the American of only thirty. This was re- 
ceived with loud shouts of exultation, while 
the militia marched off full of ardor and 
zeal.* 

By this time, my companion and myself 
felt the need of some refrebhment ; but our 
funds would not permit us to indulge our ap- 
petites with the luxury of a dinner ; we 
therefore contented ourselves with a simple 
luncheon. 

Tired of walking, our next object was to 

* The exaggerated account of the battle of Lex- 
ington must have been merely of that part of it 
which happened about sunrise, the firing of the Brit- 
ish upon the militia assem-bled upon the green near 
the meeting-house. 

The subsequent fighting at Lexington was too 
late in the day for the passengers in the stage to 
give any information at the time they arrived at 
Walpole, 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 25 

drive a bargain with the coachman for a ride 
to Providence. The price demanded was one 
and sixpence for each of us, and that upon 
condition that one should ride with the coach- 
man and the other on the baggage. 

The coachman's seat to stage-coaches in 
those days was not the comfortable place 
which it now is ; and the baggage used to be 
fastened directly upon the hind axle-tree. 
Kacks and such-Uke conveniences are the im- 
provements of modern times. To sit upon 
the baggage, then, could not be considered a 
great privilege, and it required not a little ex- 
ertion to keep one's position. For such ac- 
commodations one and sixpence each we con- 
sidered an exorbitant price ; and, after a great 
deal of haggling, a bargain was made to carry 
us both for two and eight-pence. We left 
Walpole about one o'clock, and arrived in 
Providence about sunset. 

Any one, who has experienced the forlorn 
and destitute feelings that arise in the mind 
when he feels himself alone in a si range 
city, may easily imagine what ours were at 
this time. The moving multitudes were re- 
3 



26 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

turning to their homes, after their daily occu- 
pations were over, to meet their famihes and 
their friends and to spend the quiet night. 
But we, two poor boys, had no home to re- 
ceive us, no friends to welcome us. 

Sohtary and desolate, we felt as it were 
'• strangers in a strange land." We wander- 
ed about the streets, without seeing or expect- 
ing to see any one wiio would afford us any 
assistance, or sympathize in our distress. 
Hungry and weary, with but thirty coppers 
in our pockets, it would be, we thought, un- 
justifiable extravagance to indulge our ap- 
[letites vj\{h the luxuries which a tavern 
might afft id ; we accordingly, seated upon 
the steps of a church, attempted to appease 
the cravings of hunger upon some provisions 
in our bundles, with which we had the pre- 
caution to provide ourselves before leaving 
Roxbury. Having finished our scanty meal, 
we found night approaching, and that it was 
necessary to obtain lodgings somewhere at a 
small expense. 

Our design in coming to Providence natu- 
rally led us to the part of the town where the 
shipping lay. We found a vessel at a wharf, 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 27 

which appeared to have no person on board. 
We went on to her deck, and, findmg the 
cabin doors open, entered, took possession of 
two vacant berths, in which we slept soundly 
till morning, when we left the vessel without 
meeting with any person belonging to her. 

We strolled about the town with spirits con- 
siderably depressed, and breakfasted upon 
what remained of tlie cold food on which we 
had supped the night previous. 

I and my companion then thought it best to 
separate, for the purpose of seeking employment, 
in different directions ; and we parted without 
thinking to fix upon any time or place for a 
subsequent meeting. I liave since ascertain- 
ed, that Kelley found employment on board 
of a vessel, and went to sea. What was his 
fate I know not ; for after that day I never 
saw him, nor to the present time have I ever 
heard any more respecting him than what I 
have related. Should he meet with these 
pages, he is informed that I reside in the town 
from which we absconded sixty-three years 
ago. He would find me altered in the ap- 
pearance I presented to him in our last inter- 
view. But probably he has long since gone 



28 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

to that world " from whose bourne no travel- 
ler returns," and to which my age and infir- 
mities admonish me that I must soon repair. 

In the course of my perambulations I went 
into the market-house, and while there I saw 
a gentleman who was addressed by the name 
of Curtis. He was habited according to the 
fashion of gentlemen in those days ; a three- 
cornered hat, a club wig, a long coat of ample 
dimensions that appeared to have been made 
with reference to future growth ; breeches 
with large buckles, and shoes fastened in the 
same manner, completed his dress. 

His face appeared familiar to me, and, feel- 
ing some interest in him, I was induced to 
make some inquiries respecting him, and found 
that his christian name was Obadiah ; and 
that he had lately removed to Providence from 
Boston. With this gentleman an aunt of 
mine, a sister of my mother, had lived in Bos- 
ton, and I thought it probable that she might 
have removed to Providence with his family. 

With this impression I followed Mr. Curtis 
to his house, and to my great joy found my 
aunt. She expressed some surprise at seeing 
me so far from home ; and I had to exercise 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 29 

not a little art, and to depart not a little from 
the truth to account for my unexpected visit. 
My aunt however extracted enough from the 
answers to her many questions to satisfy her- 
self that 1 had left home without the knowl- 
edge of my parents. After satisfying my ap- 
petite with an abundance of good things, to 
which I had been some days a stranger, she 
endeavored to persuade me to give up my 
project of going to sea, and to return to Rox- 
bury. This I obstinately refused, and finding 
it useless to remonstrate with me any more, 
she dropped the subject, after warning me of 
many evils which might ensue if I persisted 
in my undertaking. To this good woman 
was I indebted for sustenance while 1 remain- 
ed in Providence, and for many articles of 
clothing of which I was in great need. 



30 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER 11. 

After seeking for a situation on board of 
some vessel for several days, I at length found 
one in the service of Capt. Joseph Manchester, 
who was in the employ of Nathaniel Angier. 
I shipped in the capacity of cabin boy, for a 
compensation of twenty-one shilHngs per 
month, to go to Cape Francois in the island of 
St. Domingo. The wages of the sailors were 
forty-two shillings per month. 

By the assistance of my good aunt, in a few 
days I was tolerably well equipped for the 
voyage. The vessel was hauled off into the 
stream, and shortly after we sailed for our 
destined port. This being the first time I ever 
was at sea, I experienced a considerable 
amount of that mental and bodily prostration 
called " sea-sickness ;" but in a few days I 
became accustomed to the motion of the ves- 
sel, and recovered my usual health and spirits. 

Being what is termed a " green hand," I 
had every thing to learn that belonged to my 
duties ; and of course made some blunders for 
which I received more curses than thanks. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. ' 31 

Among other misfortunes, I unluckily pla- 
ced a large pot of butter in the larboard locker, 
without the precaution to fasten it in its place. 
It rolled out in the course of the night, and the 
fragments of the pot together with the con- 
tents were scattered about near the foot of the 
cabin steps. At the time of the accident the 
captain was upon deck, and having occasion 
to go below, he stepped into the midst of the 
greasy particles and measured his length upon 
the floor. The butter received a stamp of 
considerable magnitude in the form of a head, 
which, although it served to protect the cap- 
tain's from any lamentable damage, did not 
shield mine from a volley of oaths and threats 
arising from the irritation of the moment at 
the awkward predicament in which he found 
himself placed. 

After a pleasant voyage of about fouriecii 
days, we arrived in sight of our destined port. 
That part of St. Domingo in which Cape 
Francjois is situated was then in possession of 
the French ; and, in regard to certain articles, 
trade was prohibited between the inhabitants 
and the American colonies. Some manage- 
ment was therefore necessary to obtain the 



32 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

cargo we wanted. A boat was sent ashore to 
inform certain merchants, who were expecting- 
us, of our arrival. In the morning a pilot 
came to our assistance, and we were soon an- 
chored in the harbor of Cape Francois. 

We carried out staves and hoops in a state 
of preparation to be converted into hogsheads ; 
and I worked at coopering till we were ready 
to receive our cargo. Having filled the hogs- 
heads with molasses, which w^as apparently 
all our cargo, we set sail, and afterwards took 
on board a quantity of coffee, a prohibited ar- 
ticle, which was conveyed to us by vessels 
employed for that purpose. 

Our loading being thus completed, we di- 
rected our course for Providence, and after a 
passage of about fifteen days we arrived at 
Stonington, Connecticut. 

During our absence from home, the Revo- 
lutionary war had commenced, and we found 
that the British had begun their depredations 
upon our commerce and maritime towns. 

We left Stonington in the night, entertain- 
ing the hope, that, with a favorable wind, we 
might get into Providence without being dis- 
covered by the British cruisers, which we knew 



OF EBENEZER POX. 33 

were cruising somewhere between Newport 
and Providence. 

If the breeze had continued favorable, we 
should have effected our object ; but, unfortu- 
nately, the wind subsided a httle before day- 
light, and in the morning we found ourselves 
close by the enemy, consisting of two ships of 
war, and a small vessel called a tender between 
them and the land. The American com- 
mander. Commodore Whipple, with a naval 
force greatly inferior to the British, was seen 
by us, higher up the bay, out of reach of the 
enemy, making signals for us to press all sail 
and approach. But unluckily we were igno- 
rant of the meaning of the signals, and did 
not know whether they came from a friend or 
an enemy. As the cruisers were to the wind- 
ward of us, we tacked one way and the other, 
hoping that' we should be able to beat up the 
bay ; but, finding that the tender was about 
to intercept our progress in one direction while 
the cruisers approached us in the other, and, 
no chance of escape appearing, we bore away 
and ran our vessel ashore. 

Preparations were hastily made for leaving 
the vessel, our captain having given permis- 



34 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

sioii to all, who were disposed to run the risk, 
to make their escape. The mate and crew 
jumped overboard and swam for the shore, 
where they all arrived safe, although fired up- 
on by the British tender. 

Captain Manchester, supposing that 1 should 
be unable to reach the shore by swimming, 
kindly advised me to rem.ain on board with 
him and be taken prisoner. T hesitated a 
short time about taking his advice, but finally 
concluded to run the risk of being drowned ; 
and with nothing on but a shirt and a pair of 
trousers, I plunged into the sea and swam for 
the shore, where I arrived without injury, but 
nearly exhausted with fatigue and fear, not a 
little augmented by the sound of the bullets 
that whistled around my head while in the 
water. In dread of pursuit, I ran into a corn- 
field, and finding my wet clothes an incum- 
brance, I stripped them off and ran with all 
speed through the field. 

At a little distance in advance of me I 
could discover a number of men, whom I soon 
found to be our ship s crew, who had landed 
before me. My appearance among them in a 
state of entire nakedness excited not a little 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 35 

mirth. " HoUoa ! my boy," exclaimed one of 
them, •' you cut a pretty figure ; not fi-ora the 
garden of Eden, I can swear for it, for you 
have not even an apron of fig-leaves to cover 
you with : you were not born to be drowned, 
I see, though you may live to be hanged." 
But after a few jests at my expense, the mate 
took off one of the two shirts, with which -be 
had taken the precaution to provide himself 
before he left the vessel, and gave it to me. 
This garment answered all the purposes of a 
covering, as it effectually covered my person 
from my shoulders to my feet. After travel- 
ling about half of a mile, we came to a house, 
where the good woman, taking pity on my 
grotesque and unique condition, gave me a 
decent suit of clothes. 

1 immediately proceeded to Providence, 
where I arrived the same day, and lost no time 
before visiting my good aimt, although I had 
great doubts and fears of the reception 1 should 
meet with. She was glad to see me again, 
but did not lose the opportunity of giving me 
a long lecture upon the folly of my conduct in 
leaving home ; and appealed to my candor to 
acknowledge the justice of her reproof, b}' 



36 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

comparing my present condition with what it 
formerly was. The anxiety and distress of 
my parents^ too, were described to me in all 
the eloquence of female affection, as an addi- 
tional inducement to return to them. 

The misfortunes I had thus far experienced, 
she alleged, I ought to consider as judgments 
against any more attempts to be separated from 
my friends : and concluded with advising me, 
in the kindest manner, to return home, and 
with many generous offers to assist me and 
to produce a reconciliation, should her assist- 
ance be found necessary. 

I felt conscious that the result of this voyage 
did not fill my mouth with arguments in favor 
of a second. I went away tolerably well 
clothed, and returned stai^k naked, but I could 
not however see the force of her reasoning, nor 
make a proper application of it to my circum- 
stances. 

The minds of the old and the )^oung are 
differently constituted, and their modes of 
thinking, and the train of reasoning they pur- 
sue are entirely dissimilar. The former con- 
sider actions in connexion with their conse- 
quences, and look to the future good or evil 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 37 

that may arise ; while the latter regard only 
present prospect, and are unmindful of future 
events and reckless of the future calamities to 
which they may be exposed. Youth rush into 
' danger and are heedless of it ; while the aged, 
! warned by experience, turn aside- and avoid 
it. Finding me obstinately resolved upon un- 
dertaking another voyage, to obtain, as 1 
; thought, some remuneration for the misfor- 
' tunes experienced in the first, my aunt show- 
I ed a disposition to assist me as readily as be- 
fore ; and I w^as soon comfortably fitted out 
for a second expedition. 

Four days after my arrival in Providence, I 
fortunately met with a ship-master, named 
Thomas, and engaged in his employ for a 
voyage to Cape Francois, the port to which I 
sailed on my former voyage. We had a short 
passage, and arrived at our destined port with- 
out any thing having transpired worthy of 
notice during the voyage. 

We took in a cargo similar to the one we 
received on my former voyage, and set sail for 
Providence, where we arrived after a pleasant 
passage of eighteen or twenty days. I worked 
on board the vessel several days, assisting to un- 



38 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

load her, and then received my wages, which 
had been stipulated at four dollars per month. 

With my money in my pocket, the largest 
sum I ever before possessed, and much elated 
with my success, 1 visited my good aunt once 
more, who received me with much joy. She 
assisted me with her advice in purchasing 
some articles of clothing, that I might make a 
respectable appearance among my friends. 

I now thought 1 could consistently return 
to my native place ; and was willing to com- 
ply with the desire of my aunt and my own 
inclinations, to visit my parents, who, I knew, 
must have suffered much anxiety at my ab- 
sence, a wanderer they knevv not where, at a 
time w^hen the country was in such a state of 
commotion as to render it somewhat hazar- 
dous for a youth like me to be without a 
guide or protector. 

After securing my clothing in a small pack, 
I slung it on my back, and started on foot for 
home, from which 1 had been absent about 
six months. This was the latter part of No- 
vember, 1775. 

My finances being rather low, after deduct- 
ing the expense of my clothing, 1 found it ne- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 39 

cessary to exercise economy on my journey, 
and not indulge myself in entertainment at 
public houses. I found a ready welcome at 
the dwellings of the farmers on the road, and 
was treated with an abundance of bread and 
milk without compensation. I was hospitably 
received at a respectable farm-house the first 
night on my journey ; and on the second, ar- 
rived at the American camp in Roxbury, on 
Saturday evening. Ascertaining that my pa- 
rents had, during my absence, removed to 
Dorchester, a distance of about three miles, 1 
felt too much fatigued to seek their residenee 
that night, and found comfortable accommoda- 
tions in one of the barracks. 

Early on Sunday morning I started for Dor- 
chester, and soon to my great joy and satisfac- 
tion found my parents in the enjoyment of 
good health, excepting my father, who was af- 
flicted with a bad cold and was lying asleep on 
the bed when 1 entered the house. My good 
mother gazed at me with the amazement of 
one who had seen a spectre. She had long 
before given up all hopes of ever seeing me 
again, having heard nothing respecting me 
during my absence ; and, as she was well 



40 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

aware of my inclination for a sailor's life, she 
had concluded that I had gone to sea, and that, 
in her estimation, was equivalent to being lost.* 
As soon as she had recovered from the shock 
caused by my sudden and unexpected appear- 
ance, and recovered her self-possession, she 
aroused my father with a scream of joy and 
the exclamation "Our son is returned !" The 
disposition of my father was more equable than 
that of my mother, and his feelings were less 
excitable than hers ; consequently he exhibited 
less astonishment at sight of me, though he felt 
as much pleasure on the occasion. Neither 
had he yielded to those fears for my safety 
which had taken possession of my mother's 
mind ; or else he had endeavored to conceal 

* It may appear surprising to the reader that my 
aunt at Providence had not informed my parents re- 
specting my movements. To say nothing of the 
fact, that she did not possess the pen of a ready wri- 
ter, there were no regular means for conveying infor- 
mation in those days. Mails and post-ofRces, now so 
common, were then unknown. Situated as my aunt 
was, she could have but little access to travelers, and, 
being very domestic in her habits, she was seldom 
out of the house of her employer. 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 41 

his apprehensions in order to pacily hers ; con- 
stantly encouraging her with the hope that I 
" sliould, no doubt, be taken care of." 

My mother was about commencing an end- 
lesstrain of questions respecting my adventures, 
but, intimating that I was hungry, having had 
no breakfast, she postponed the gratification of 
her curiosity to attend to my aninjal wants. 

While in)patieiitly watching the progress of 
my mother in her culinary operations, my 
father, with much gravity and solemnity of 
manner, addressed me as follows : — " My son, 
I am much surprised and grieved that you 
should have left home in tlie manner you did, 
without giving us any means to ascertain your 
fate, or what your intentions were. If you 
had any cause for cotnplairu,, and thought 
yourself ill-treated, why did you not inform me, 
and 1 would have seen justice done 1" With 
the sense of wrongs, either real or imagin- 
ary, still rankling in my breast, I repli- 
ed that 1 had done so, repeatedly, but no atten- 
tion had been paid to my complaints ; and that 
I had often told my mother that I intended to 
go forth into the world for the purpose of im- 
4 



42 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES' 

proving my condition. " Since you have 
been preserved from any serious disaster," con- 
tinued my father, " and no evil consequences 
have resulted from the imprudent steps you 
have taken, I hope you will abandon all such 
schemes in future. You can remain at home 
until you are old enough to learn a trade, and 
then choose one for yourself" 

At this time my father found abundance of 
employment in working at his trade for the 
soldiers in the American camp. During the 
winter I improved the time in attending a 
school, and making myself usefial in various 
ways to my parents. I often visited the Amer- 
ican camp, and endeavored by conversing with, 
the soldiers to ascertain what plans were form-^ 
ed for their future operations. My father hav^- 
ing a large family to maintain by his industry, 
I felt unwiUing to remain at home, a burden 
upon him, and was desirous of supporting my- 
self My brother James, who was two years 
older than myself, had likewise been at home 
during the preceding winter * and it was 
thought expedient that both of us should learn 
some useful trade. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 43 



CHAPTER III. 



Uninterrupted intercourse being now 
established between tlie country and the town, 
my brother and myself were sent into Boston 
to choose our trades and seek our employers. 
James found a situation in the bakery of Mr. 
Edward Tuckerrnan in the south part of the 
town, as an apprentice upon probation ; and I 
found employment in the shop of Mr. John 
Bosson, a barber and manufacturer of wigs, 
upon the same conditions. 

After we had been in these situations long 
enough for all parties to be satisfied, we were 
bound by my father in regular form as appren- 
tices. 

The trade of a barber in those days was very 
different from what it now is. My principal 
employment was in the preparation of hair for 
the purposes of wigs, crape-cushions, <fcc. ; be- 
ing occasionally allowed to scrape the face of 
some transient customer, who might be reason- 
ably expected never to call again for a repeti- 
tion of the operation. 



44 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

In Mr. Bosson's service I continued until I 
was sixteen years old, and made laudable pro- 
gress in the mysteries of his art. 
♦ The war at this time was fiercely maintained 
between the United States and Great-Britain ; 
and as soldiers were wanted, a draught w^as 
made upon the mihtia of Massachusetts for a 
quota of men to march toNew^- York,to reinforce 
the American army tben in the vicinity of that 
city. My master was unfortunately among 
the number draughted for that service. As he 
did not possess a great degree of military spirit^ 
he was much distressed at the demand thus 
suddenly made upon his patriotism. One day, 
while my fellow apprentice and myself were 
at work, Mr. Bosson entered the shop laboring 
under great agitation of mind. It was evident 
that something had happened to discompose 
his temper, wdiich was naturally somewhat ir- 
ritable. He w^alked rapidly about, occasionally 
stopping, and honing several razors that he 
had put in perfect order previous to his going 
out ; and attempting to sharpen a pair of 
shears that at the time bore the keenest edge ; 
he furnished us with much food for conjecture 
as to the cause of his strange conduct. At 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 45 

length, from various ejaculations, and now and 
then a half-snioihered curse upon his ill luck, 
we gathered the fact, that he was enrolled a- 
mong the soldiers who were soon to take up 
the line of march for New- York. This was 
an unfortunate business for him :, a reality he 
had not anticipated. The idea of shouldering 
a musket, buckhng on a knapsack, leaving his 
quiet family, and marching several hundred 
miles for the good of his country, never took 
a place in his mind. Although a lirm friend 
to his country, and willing to do all he could 
to help along her cause, as for as expressing 
favorable opinions and good wishes availed, 
yet there was an essential difference in his 
mind between the theory and the art of war ; 
between acting the soldier, and triumphing at 
the soldiers success. 

The reality of his position operated as a 
safety-valve to let off the steam of his patriot- 
ism, and to leave him in a state of languor 
v^'ell calculated to produce in him a degree of 
resignation for remaining at home. But what 
was to be done ? A substitute could not be 
obtained for the glory that might be acquired 
in the service ; and as for money, no hopes 



46 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

could be entertained of raising sufficient for 
the purpose. Mr. Bosson continued to fidget 
about, uttering such expressions as his excited 
feelings prompted, allowing us to catch a dis- 
connected sentence, such as : " Hard times 

don't need two apprentices any more than 

a toad needs a tail ;" " If either of you had 

the spunk of a louse, you would offer to go for 
me." With this last remark he quitted the 
shop apparently in high dudgeon. 

The truth was now evident, that he want- 
ed somebody to take his place. 

To provide ways and means of payment 
was the principal obstacle in the way of hiring 
a substitute. Gold and silver had scarcely a 
physical existence in the country, and the want 
of a circulating medium was attempted to be 
supplied by the legislative acts of government 
in issuing an excessive quantity of paper mon- 
ey, which, as it never had any intrinsic value, 
soon degenerated from its nominal worth with 
progressive rapidity. From 1777 to 1781 the 
state of the money was so fluctuating that no 
certain calculation could be made of its value : 
for it was not two days at a time of the same 
value. The depreciation continued, till pru- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 47 

dent people declined taking it at any rate ; 
and they, who did, received it at a depreciation 
of several hundreds for one. While such a 
state of things continued, all kinds of business 
was prostrate. The laborer, though " worthy 
of his hire, could not obtain any thing for it. 
Patriotism, more than a love of gain, prompted 
men to join the army. More were willing to 
enlist voluntarily than to serve in the capacity 
of substitutes for an uncertain compensation. 
My master therefore had but little hope of find- 
ing any one wilUng to serve in his stead. 

The spirit of adventure had been suppress- 
ed, but not destroyed, within me. The mo- 
notonous duties of the shop grew irksome, and 
I longed for some employnaent productive of 
variety. The opportunity seemed favorable 
to my desires ; and, as my elder fellow appren- 
tice was fearful that he migTit be called upon^ 
he encouraged me in the project, and I resolv- 
ed upon offering my services. 

Mr. Bosson accepted my proposition to act 
as his substitute with a great degree of satis- 
faction and gratitude, which he evinced by a 
liberal supply of clothing and equipments for 
the service. He did not suffer my zeal to cool, 



48 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

but immediately gave directions to have me 
enrolled and enlisted for three months, in a 
company commanded by Capt. WiUiam Bird 
of Boston, in a regiment under Colonel Proctor. 

Early in the month of September, 1779, be- 
ing not quite sixteen, the age required at 
that time for the militia service, our com- 
pany was paraded on Boston common, and 
with a heavy knapsack on my back, and a 
gun on my shoulder, superior in weight to 
those carried by soldiers at the present time, 
we took up the hne of march. 

We halted at Roxbury to take under our 
protection six baggage wagons of ammunition, 
and commenced our march for Peeks-Kill, in 
the state of New- York. 

During our march, several little events trans- 
pired, which serve to show to what losses and 
vexations the inhabitants of a country are ex- 
posed when troops are moving through their 
territories. One afternoon some geese were 
discovered enjoying themselves in a pond near 
the road ; and one of the soldiers, thinking 
that a little poultry would not be an unaccep- 
table addition to our bill of fare, threw a stone 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 49 

among- them and killed one of the largest of 
the flock. 

The prize was secured and concealed by ta- 
king off the head of a drum and putting the 
goose into it, and then restoring the instrument 
to its former appearance. The owner of the 
poultry followed and conaplained to the com- 
manding officer of this depredation on his prop- 
erty. We halted long enough to have the 
\A agons searched,but the goose was not found ; 
and we were allowed to march on. When the 
camp fires were kindled at night, the go3se 
was roasted, and our captain did not hesitate 
to eat a lej, wing, and a piece of the breast 
without troubling us with any questions re- 
specting our right of possession. 

A few days subsequent to this event, we 
halted one evening, after a tiresome day's 
march, at a well-provided farming establish- 
ment belonging to an old Quaker. Permis- 
sion was asked to allow us to lodge in some of 
his spacious barns, but the old man would not 
give his consent, alleging that his principles 
were opposed to the spirit of war, and that he 
cuuld not aid those who were engaged in mor- 
5 



30 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

tal contests. We urged him to consider our 
fatigue, our wants, and the perils to which we 
were exposed for the good of the country : but 
these appeals produced no change in his pur- 
pose. Finding that solicitation and intreaty 
were vain^ we changed our tone, and peremp- 
torily demanded accommodations. As refusal 
would have been useless to men tired and 
hungry as we were, and possessing the physi- 
cal force to exact compliance, he reluctantly 
consented to our sleeping in an old building, 
that seemed to have been erected for some me- 
chanical purpose. This was all we could ob- 
tain, for he refused to sell us bread, or milk, or 
any eatable ; and even to permit our com- 
mander to lodge in his house. 

Such inhospitable treatment was rare in 
those days. The wants of the soldiers, the 
defenders of their country, were generally 
cheerfully supphed ; and they, who were not 
engaged in active service, were willing to con- 
tribute all in their power to the comfort and 
sustenance of the soldier. 

In the building, to which we were admitted, 
we found a large kettle or boiler, w^hich we 
filled with water, and made a fire under it. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 51 

Late at night a party was sent out to search tlie 
premises and to seize whatever could be found 
capable of being converted to our benefit, or of 
contributing to our physical wants. 

In an orchard belonging to tlie Quaker a 
large number of fowls were found quietly 
roosting upon the trees, little dreaming of the 
murderous attack about to be made upon them. 
Between thirty and forty were captured, to 
whom no quarters were given, and brought 
into the camp. The feathers were quickly 
plucked, and the bodies were scalded in the 
kettle. Afterwards they were stowed away in 
our knapsacks, and a party sufficient to carry 
the plunder were sent on in advance. 

We started early the next morning, and, af- 
ter a march of about fifteen miles, we overtook 
the party in advance with the half-cooked 
poultry. The inhospitable spirit, manifested 
by the (Quaker, was the cause of a much 
greater loss to him than he would have suffer- 
ed, had he showed a disposition to afford us 
some trifling accommodations. 

We halted at a farm house, and, having 
borrowed a large brass kettle, emptied the con- 
tents of the knapsacks into it, combining there- 



52 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

with a goodly quantity of onions, potatoes^ 
and carrots, and soon converted the hetero- 
geneous mass into what we called a chicken 
soup, which, though it might not have been 
very palatable to an epicure, was not to be 
despised by a company of hungry soldiers. 

After a fatiguing march of five or six days, 
we arrived at Peeks-Kill, and delivered to the 
commander there our wagons of ammunition, 
and then marched to Albany. 

"V^'hile we remained at Albany, we were 
quartered in what was then called the " old 
French fort." We remained here about six 
weeks, when, General Washington having 
changed his plan of operations, and abandoned 
his design of attacking New-York, and our 
services being no longer needed, we were dis- 
charged, to get home in the best way we could. 

When we left Boston, each of us received 
three thousand dollars in Continental money ; 
of the value of which the reader may have al- 
ready formed some idea, and it had not risen 
since our departure, for we found on our return 
that from one hundred to one hundred and 
fifty dollars of it were required for a simple 
repast. In addition to this compensation, our 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 53 

monthly pay was forty shillings, in the same 
valuable currency. My clothes were much 
worn and damaged in the service, and upon 
our return were found in a very shabby con- 
dition, especially my shoes. Of these I had 
two pair, but the good judgment of a thief was 
shown by steahng the better pair one night 
while T was asleep, leaving me no other alter- 
native but to go barefoot, or secure the remain- 
ing ones to my feet by winding rope-yarn 
around them in the form of bandages. 

My feet were covered with blisters while I 
marched over the frozen ground and snow ; 
and thus, almost crippled, and worn down 
with fatigue, I arrived at my father's in Rox- 
bury, whither he had returned, after an ab- 
sence of about two months. 

After resting a fev7 days at home, and re- 
covering my strength and spirits, I returned to 
Mr.Bosson, abundantly satisfied with the speci- 
men I had experienced of a soldier's hfe, as- 
suring him that nothing would again induce 
me to officiate as a substitute for him or any 
body else. 



REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER IV. 

I CONTINUED to perform my duties in the 
shop, and was contented with my employment 
till 1 was about seventeen years of age, when 
a spirit of roving once more got possession of 
me ; and I expressed a desire to go to sea. 
The condition of the country was at this time 
distressing : and, as my master had not more 
business than he and one apprentice could per- 
form, he expressed a wilhngness to consent, 
upon condition that he should receive one half 
of my wages and the same proportion of what- 
ever prize money might fall to my share. 

Our coast was lined with British cruisers, 
which had almost annihilated our commerce ; 
and the state of Massachusetts judged it expe- 
dient to build a government vessel, rated as a 
twenty-gun ship named the " Protector," com- 
manded by Captain John Foster Williams. 
She was to be fitted for service as soon as pos- 
sible, to protect our commerce, and to annoy 
the enemy. A rendezvous was established 
for recruits at the head of Hancock's wharf, 
where the national flag, then bearing thirteen 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 55 

stripes and stars, was hoisted. All means 
were resorted to, which ingenuity could de- 
vise, to induce men to enlist. A recruiting of- 
ficer, bearing a flag and attended by a band of 
martial music, paraded the streets, to excite a 
thirst for glory and a spirit of military ambition. 

The recruiting officer possessed the qualifi- 
cations requisite to make the service appear 
alluring, especially to the young. He was a 
jovial, good-natured fellow, oT ready wit and 
much broad humor. Crowds follovved in his 
wake when he marched the streets ; and he 
occasionally stopped at the corners to harangue 
the multitude in order to excite their patriot- 
ism and zeal for the cause of liberty. 

When he espied any large boys among the 
idle crowd around him, he would attract their 
attention by singing in a comical mannev the 
following doggerel : 

" All you that have bad masters, 
And cannot get your due ; 
Come, come, my brave boys, 
And join with our ship's crew." 

A shout and a huzza would follow, and some 
would join in the ranks. My excitable feel- 



56 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

ings were roused ; I repaired to the repdez- 
vousj signed the ship's papers, mounted a 
cockade, and was in my own estimation ah-ea- 
dy more than a half of a sailor. The ship was 
as yet far from being supplied with her com- 
plement of men ; and the recruiting business 
went on slowly. Appeals continued to be 
made to the patriotism of every young man to 
lend his aid, by his exertions on sea or land, 
to free his counti'y from the common enemy. 
Promises of gain were held out, which set 
truth at defiance, and offers the most tempt- 
ing that the impoverished state of the finances 
of government could prontise. About the last 
of February the ship was ready to receive her 
crew, and was hauled off into the channel, 
that the sailors might have no opportunity to 
run aw^ay after they were got on board. 

Upwards of three hundred and thirty men 
were carried, dragged, and driven on board, of 
all kinds, ages, and descriptions, in all the va- 
rious stages of intoxication ; from that of 
" sober tipsiness" to beastly drunkenness, with 
the uproar and clamor that may be more easi- 
ly imagined than described. Such a motley 
group has never been seen since Falstaff^s rag- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 57 

ged regiment paraded the streets of Co- 
ventry. 

The wind being fair, we weighed anchor 
and dropped down to Nantasket roads, where 
we lay till about the first of April ; and then 
set sail for a cruise of six months. - Our course 
was first directly eastward ; and, while keep- 
ing along the coast, we espied two English 
ships of war, each carrying sixteen or eighteen 
guns. We immediately gave chase ; but to 
our surprise and regret they avoided an en- 
gagement, and made all sail from us. In 
consequence of having coppered bottoms, the 
sloops were better sailors than our ship, which 
was not coppered, and they made their es- 
cape. Their conduct was inexplicable to us, 
as each, without co-operation, was of force 
sufficient to be a match for us ; and both, act- 
ing in concert, might have given us cause to 
repent, had we come in contact with them. 

We continued to cruise along the coast for a 
few wrecks, without meeting with any of the 
enemy, when, some indications of tempestuous 
weather appearing, our captain judged it ex- 
pedient to steer for the banks of Newfound- 
land, that he might have more sea room in 



58 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

case of a gale. We arrived off the banks, 
where we cruised for nearly eight weeks, most 
of the time in a dense fog, without meeting 
with friend or foe. 

On the morning of June 9th, 1780, the fog 
began to clear away ; and the man at the 
mast head gave notice that he saw a ship to 
the westward of us. As the fog cleared up, 
we perceived her to be a large ship under En- 
glish colours to the windward, standing 
athwart our starboard bow. Our relative po- 
sition gave us an opportunity to escape, but 
our vahant captain did not see fit to avail 
himself of it. 

As she came down upon us, she appeared 
as large as a seventy-four ; and we were not 
deceived respecting her size, for it afterwards 
proved that she was an old East-Indiaman, of 
eleven hundred tons burden, fitted out as a 
letter-of-marque for the West-India trade, 
mounted with thirty-two guns, and furnished 
with a complement of one hundred and fifty 
men. She was called the Admiral Duff, com- 
manded by Richard Strang, from St. Chris- 
topher* and St. Eustatia, laden with sugar 
* Commonly called St. Kitts. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 59 

and tobacco, and bound to London. I was 
standing near our first lieutenant, Mr. Little, 
who was calmly examining the enemy, as 
she approached, with his spy-glass, when 
Captain WilUams stepped up and asked his 
opinion of her. The heutenant- applied the 
glass to his eye again and took a deliberate 
look in silence, and replied, " I think she is a 
heavy ship, and that we shall have some hard 
fighting ; but of one thing I am certain, she 
is not a frigate ; if she were, she would not 
keep yawing, and showing her broad sides as 
she does ; she would show nothing but her 
head and stern : we shall have the advantage 
of her, and the quicker we get alongside the 
better." Our captain ordered English colours 
to be hoisted, and the ship to be cleared for 
action. The shrill pipe of the boatswain 
summoned all hands to their duty. The bed- 
ding and hammocks of the sailors were 
brought up from between decks ; the bedding 
placed in the hammocks, and lashed up in the 
nettings : our courses hauled up ; the top- 
gallant sails clewed down ; and ever}' prepara- 
tion was made, which a skilful officer could 
suggest, or active sailors perform. 



60 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

The enemy approached till within musket 
shot of us. The two ships were so near to 
each other that we could distinguish the offi- 
cers from the men ; and I particularly noticed 
the captain, on the gangway, a noble looking 
man, having a large gold-laced cocked hat 
on his head, and a speaking trumpet in his 
hand. Lieutenant Little possessed a powerful 
voice, and he was directed to hail the enemy ; 
at the same time the quarter-master was or-' 
dered to stand ready to haul down the Enghsh 
flag and to hoist up the American. Our lieu-, 
tenant took his station on the after part of the 
starboard gangway, and, elevating the trum- 
pet, exclaimed, " Hallo ! whence come you ?" 
— " From Jamaica, bound to London," was 
the answer. " What is the ship's name ?" 
inquired the lieutenant. " The Admiral 
Duff," was the reply. 

The English captain then thought it his 
turn to interrogate, and asked the name of our 
ship. l>ieutenant Little, in order to gain time, 
put the trumpet to iiis ear, pretending not to 
hear the question. During the short interval, 
thus gained. Captain Williams called upon the 
gunner to ascertain how many guns could be 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 61 

brought to bear upon the enemy. " Five," 
was the answer. " Then fire, and shift the 
the colours," were the orders. The cannons 
poured forth their deadly contents, and, with 
the first flash, the American flag look the 
place of the British ensign at our raast-head. 

The compliment was returned in I he form 
of a full broadside, and tlie action commen- 
ced. T was stationed on the edge of the 
quarter-deck, to sponge and load a six- 
pounder : this position gave me a fine op- 
portunity to see the whole action. Broadsides 
were exchanged with great rapidity for nearly 
an hour ; our fire, as we afterwards ascertain- 
ed, produced a terrible slaughter among the 
enemy, while our loss was as yet trifling.* 

* After these pages were written, I ascertained 
that Mr. Frederick Lane, of Boston, a relative of 
Captain John Foster Williams, had in his possession 
the original log-book of the ship Protector. Mr. 
Lane had the politeness to send it to me, and I have 
made the following extracts verbatim from one of its 

pages. 

" June 9th, 1780. 
" At 7 A. M. saw a ship to the Westward, we 
stood for lier under English Colours, the Ship stand- 
ing athaught us, under EngLsti Colours, appeared 



62 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

I happened to be looking for a moment to- 
wards the main deck, when a large shot came 
through our ship's side and killed Mr. Benja- 
min Scollay, a very promising young man, 
who was, I think, a midshipman. At this 
moment a shot from one of our marines killed 
the man at the wheel of the enemy's ship, 
and, his place not being immediately supplied, 
she was brought alongside of us in such a 
manner as to bring her bowsprit directly across 
our forecastle. Not knowing the cause of this 
movement, we supposed it to be the intention 

to be a large ship. At 11 came along side of her, 
hailed her, she answered from Jamaica. I shifted 
my colours and gave her a Broadside, she soon re- 
turned us another, the action was very heavy for 
near three Glasses, when she took fire and blew up 
— got out the Boats to save the men, took up 55 of 
them, the greatest part of them wounded with our 
shot and Burnt when the ship Blew up, she was 
called the Adml. Duff of 32 Guns, Comman'd by 
Richard Strang from St.Kitts and Estatia, Ladened 
with Sugar and Tobacco bound to London. We 
Lost in the action one man, Mr. Benja. Scollay and 
5 wounded. Rec'd several Shot in our Hull, and 
several of our shrouds and stays shot away." 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 63 

of the enemy to board us. Our boarders were 
ordered to be ready with their pikes to resist 
any such attempt, while our guns on the main 
deck were sending death and destruction 
among the crew of the enemy. Their princi- 
pal object now seemed to be to g^t liberated 
from us, and by cutting away some of their 
rigging, they were soon clear, and at the dis- 
tance of a pistol shot. 

The action w^as then renewed with addi- 
tional fury ; broadside for broadside continued 
with unabated vigor ; at times so near to each 
other that the muzzles of our guns came al- 
most in contact, then again at such a distance 
as to allow of taking deliberate aim. The 
contest was obstinately continued by the ene- 
my, although we could perceive that great 
havock was made among them, and that it 
was with much difficulty that their men were 
compelled to remain at their quarters. 

A charge of grape-shot came in at one of 
our port-holes, wdiich dangerously w^ounded 
four or five of our men, among whom was our 
third lieutenant, Mr. Little,* brother to the first. 

* This gentleman is now living in the town of 
Marshfield, Mass. 



64 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

His life was despaired of, but by the kind at- 
tention he received from his brother, and the 
surgeon, he finally recovered, though he bore 
evidence of the severity of his wounds thro' life. 

While Captain Williams was walking the 
quarter deck, which he did during the whole 
action, a shot from the enemy struck the 
speaking trumpet from his hand, and sent it 
to a considerable distance from him. He 
picked it up with great calmness of manner, 
and resumed his walk, without appearing to 
have been at all disturbed by the circumstance. 

The battle still continued with unabated 
vigor on both sides, till our marksmen had 
killed or wounded all the men in the fore, 
main, and mizen tops of the enemy. The 
action had now lasted about an hour and a 
half, and the fire from the enemy began to 
slacken, when we suddenly discovered that all 
the sails on her mainmast were enveloped in a 
blaze. The fire spread with amazing rapidi- 
ty, and, running down the after- rigging, it 
soon communicated with her magazine, when 
her whole stern was blov\m off, and her valua- 
ble cargo emptied into the sea. All feelings 
of hostility now ceased, and those of pity were 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 65 

excited in our breasts for the miserable crew 
that survived the catastrophe. 

Our enemy's ship was now a complete 
wreck, though she still floated, and the survi- 
vors were endeavoring to save themselves in 
the only boat that had escaped the general 
destruction. The humanity of our captain 
urged him to make all possible exertion to 
save the nnscrable, wounded, and burnt 
wretches, who were strugghng for iheir lives 
in the water. The ship of the enemy was 
greatly our superior in size, and lay much 
higher out of the water. 

Our boats had been much exposed to his 
fire, as they were placed on spars between the 
fore and main masts during the action, and 
had suflfered considerable damage. The car- 
penters were ordered to repair them vv'ith the 
utmost expedition, and we got them out in 
season to take up fifty-five men, the greater 
part of whom had been wounded by our shot, 
or burned when the powder magazine explo- 
ded. These men exhibited a spectacle truly 
heart-rending to behold. Their limbs were 
mutilated by all manner of wounds, while 
6 



66 



REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



some were burned to such a degree that the 
skin was nearly flayed from their bodies. Our 
surgeon and his assistants had just completed 
the task of dressinsr the wounds of our own 
crew, and then they directed their attention to 
the wounded of the enemy. Several of them 
suffered the amputation of their limbs, and the 
wounds of the others were treated in a skilful 
manner, and every attention was paid to them 
which our circumstances would allow. Five 
of them died of their wounds, and were com- 
mitted to their watery graves. From the sur- 
viv'Ois we learned, that the British commander 
had frequently expressed a desiie to come in 
contact with a " Yankee frigate," during his 
vo3^age, that he might have a prize to carry to 
London. Poor fellow ! he little thought of 
losing his ship and his life in an engagement 
with a ship so much inferior to his own — 
with an enemy upon whom he looked with 
so much contempt. 

We ascertained that the loss of the enemy 
was prodigious, compared with ours. This 
disparity however will not appear so remarka- 
ble, when it is considered that, although their 
ship was larger than ours, it was not so well 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 67 

s applied with men ; having no marines to use 
the musket, they fought with their guns 
alone, and, as their ship lay much higher out 
of the water than ours, the greater part of their 
shot went over us, cutting our rigging and 
sails, without injuring our men.^ We had 
about seventy marines, who did great execu- 
tion with their muskets, picking off the officers 
and men with a sure and deliberate aim. 

After the action was over, I found that 1 
was so deaf, as to cause me to fear that I had 
totally lost the sense of hearing. I attributed 
this to the noise of the cannon, which 1 had 
been employed in loading and spunging for 
such a period of time. It was nearly a week 
before my hearing was restored, and then but 
partially ; and, ever since, I have experienced 
great inconvenience from this deafness. 

In all our naval engagements, both in the 
revolutionary war and the subsequent one, 
there has been a great inequality of loss among 
the contending parties. The history of our 
naval actions oilers abundant testimony to 
corroborate the truth of this statement. Its 
cause, to me, is inexplicable. 

Our sailors were busily employed in pick- 



68 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

ing up the various articles that were floating', 
and getting them on board, while the carpen- 
ters and riggers were engaged in repairing 
the damages we had received. The ship was 
soon in good order and prepared again to meet 
the enemy, and we continued on our cruise. 

The wreath er growing warm, sails were sus- 
pended between the decks, for the purpose of 
ventilating and purifying the atmosphere by 
their motion ; but little benefit resulted from 
the experiment. 

Our captain, finding that sickness was in- 
creasing among the crew, and that the wound- 
ed were suffering greatly, judged it expedient 
to leave our cruising ground, and to steer for 
some Eastern port, that we might obtain a 
supply of wood and water. 

Some repairs likewise were necessary,whicli 
we could not conveniently make at sea, pre- 
vious to a short cruise which our captain in- 
tended we should make before our return to 
Boston. 

About the twentieth of the month we sailed 
from the banks of Newfoundland, and arrived 
at Penobscot bay in seven or eight days. 
Having found a good harbor, we dropped an- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 69 

chor, and made immediate preparations to get 
our sick and wounded men on shore. Cap- 
tain Williams made a contract with a farmer, 
who was friendly to the American cause, in 
comfortable circumstances, having good build- 
ings, to provide for the sick and wounded, and 
to furnish accommodations for our surgeon's 
mate, who was left on shore with medicines 
and other things proper for a hospital. 

There was now a constant communication 
kept up between the ship and the shore, and 
it was necessary for our officers to exercise 
great vigilance to protect the property of our 
friendly farmer from depredation. An attempt 
on the part of some of our crew to steal from 
him was detected in a singular manner. 

A copper-coloured fellow, half Indian and 
half negro, had seen a fatted calf in the far- 
mer's barn, which he coveted to such a degree 
as to induce him to make a desperate attempt 
to make it a prize. The graceless rascal 
found another of the crew, whose appetite for 
veal overcame what little moral sense he pos- 
sessed, ready to second him in the under- 
taking. 

Late at night, after all hands had retired, 



70 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

Cramps, for that was the name of the princi- 
pal adventurer, took a boat, went on shore, 
secured the calf, and returned to the ship 
without discovery. He came with great cau- 
tion under the ship's bows, and hailed his 
fellow worker in iniquity, whom he expected 
to find ready with a rope to hoist the calf on 
board. 

It so happened that, just at this time, our 
first lieutenant, Mr. Little, had occasion to 
come on deck, and the fellow, who had been 
watching for the arrival of Cramps, dodged 
out of sight and secreted himself. Cramps, 
mistaking the lieutenant for his coadjutor, 
hailed him in a low tone, requesting him to 
lower a rope as quick as possible. The lieu- 
tenant, suspecting some mischief, did as he 
was directed. 

Cramps soon fixed a noose round the calf's 
neck, and then cried out, " Now haul away, 
blast your eyes ! my back is almost broke 
with carrying the creature so far down to the 
boat." The lieutenant obeyed, and a strong 
pull on his part, with some boosting by Cramps 
in the rear, soon brought the animal upon 
deck. Cramps immediately followed his prize 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 71 

and found, to his no smeill consternation, not 
only the calf, but himself in the powerful 
grasp of the lieutenant. The calf was alive 
and uninjured, although Crainps had carried 
liim a considerable distance from the barn to 
the boat, and came very near choking him 
when hoisting him up the side of the ship. 
The calf enjoyed more comfortable quarters 
that night than his captor ; for the latter was 
handcuffed, and secured below for farther pun- 
ishment the next day. In the morning, the 
calf and the culprit were sent on shore, and, 
when landed. Cramps was ordered to shoulder 
the calf and march to the farmer, confess, 
and ask his forgiveness ; and then to return 
on board with the consolation that !ie should 
receive fifty lashes for his fault, and the assu- 
rance that he should be hung at the yard-arm 
if he was detected in such an undertaking 
again. 

The result of this expedition proved Cramps 
to be the greater calf of the two. 

The fifty lashes were remitted at the solici- 
tation of the kind-hearted farmer. 



72 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER V. 

Our repairs being completed, and all things 
ready for sea, we weighed anchor about the 
last of June and steered once more for the 
banks of Newfoundland, where we cruised 
three or four weeks, without meeting any thing 
excepting a brig from the West-Indies bound 
to Boston, commanded by Capt. Thomas 
Parker. The provisions of the ship beginning 
to fail, and no prospect of making captures ap- 
pearing, our captain, with the advice of his 
officers, concluded to steer for Boston. We 
hove to, and caught a considerable quantity 
of cod-iish, then directed our course for Hali- 
fax, off which we cruised for several days. 

At noon of the fourth day after our arri- 
val, the man on the look-out at the mast- 
head gave notice of a sail on our larboard 
quarter. 

Mr. Little ascended to the mizen top to ex- 
amine the object of the sailor's report with his 
spy-glass. He ascertained to his satisfaction 
that the strange sail was a ship directing lier 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 73 

course towards us. All hands were piped on 
deck ; the ship was put about, and we nriade 
sail for the strange sail. The two ships ap- 
proached each other rapidly ; and it was soon 
evident to our officers that she was a frigate of 
large burthen. We afterwards ascertained 
that these conjectures were true, as she 
was a frigate from Halifax bound to New- 
York. 

Captain Williams thought it would be im- 
prudent to risk an action with an enemy so 
much his superior in force ; he therefore gave 
orders to put the ship about, and crowd all 
sail, that we might get from the enemy as 
fast as possible. The enemy gained upon us 
rapidly, as she was fresh from port, and her 
bottom coppered ; while ours, not having any 
copper, was extremely foul, in consequence of 
our long cruise, and our progress was greatly 
retarded. 

At five o'clock in the evening, the en- 
emy had approached so near as to give us 
several salutes with her bow guns, which 
compliment we did not hesitate to return with 
two eighteen pounders from our cabin win- 
7 



74 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

dows, and a couple of sixes from the quarter 
deck. All eighteen pound shot was lodged in 
our main-mast ; this was all the damap^e we 
received. We resorted to all the usual meth- 
ods to increase our progress, such as wetting 
the sails, shifting the position of the guns, (fee. 
not forgetting to make all the use we could of 
our stern chases, lest the enemy might think 
we slighted the compliments they sent us from 
the bow guns. 

About sun-set, the enemy rounded to, and 
gave us two broadsides, by way of parting ; 
for which we paid due acknowledgements 
from our cabin windows and quarter-deck, and 
she gave up the chase. For this last act of 
courtesy we felt more grateful than for any 
she had sliown us ; and we immediately got 
our guns into their proper places, and every 
thing in readhiess for an action which we an- 
ticipated having the next morning. 

We continued to crowd sail all night, and 
the next morning could just discern the en- 
emy at a great distance, steering in an opposite 
direction. 

We thought at the time we were fortunate 
in escaping ; but we afterwards felt some re- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 75 

gret that we had avoided an action ; for, al- 
though she was a six-and-thirty-gun frigate, 
she was poorly manned, and was bound to 
New- York to complete her number of men ; 
and the result of an action would probably 
have been in our favor. Had she been fully 
manned, she would have persevered in the 
chase, and we should probably have been ta- 
ken, as many of our men were sick. 

In a few days we came in sight of Boston 
lighthouse, and anchored in Nantasket roads, 
where we remained a short time, then stood 
up the harbor, and hauled in at Hancock's 
wharf. The sails were unbent, the sick land- 
ed, the ship unloaded, and all hands, who 
were not disposed to enlist for a second cruise, 
were paid off and discharged. 

Thus ended my first cruise in the Protec- 
tor. And, although I had not added to my 
wealth, I had gained some knowledge of a 
sailor's life, and felt disposed to try my fortune 
a little more in the like manner by enlisting 
for a second voyage. 

During the short interval between my first 
and second cruise, while I was at home, my 
father was taken sick and died. The loss of 



76 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

a kind parent is under any circumstances a 
melancholy bereavement, and this was par- 
ticularly so to my mother and her eight chil- 
dren, some of whom were very young. 

Though unwilling to leave her in her afflic- 
tion, I felt the necessity of exerting myself, 
that I might contribute something to the 
maintenance of the family, who were left very 
destitute. I knew of no way in which there 
was a prospect of my being so useful to them, 
as that of engaging for another cruise. 

A rendezvous was opened ; a recruiting 
party paraded the streets under the American 
flag, accompanied by a band of martial mu- 
sick, and the excitement usual on such occa- 
sions. Amid loud huzzas for liberty and in- 
dependence, sailors fell rapidly into our ranks, 
and our complement of men was obtained in 
a short time. 

In the mean time, our ship was thoroughly 
overhauled, her bottom scraped, rigging re- 
paired, and every thing was done to put her 
into perfect order. Wood and water, and va- 
rious kinds of stores necessary for a cruise of 
six' months, were taken on board ; and, hav- 
ing recruited about two hundred men, prepa- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 77 

rations were made for our immediate de- 
parture. 

About the last of OctobeVj our boats were 
hoisted on deck and secured, and we dropped 
down into Nantasket roads, where we remain- 
ed a few days, and then set sail upon our 
second cruise. We cleared Cape Cod the first 
of November ; directed our course for Halifax, 
off which we cruised a few days, then steered 
for the Grand Banks. We arrived there, and 
cruised about for three weeks, and, not discov- 
ering any of the enemy's vessels, we directed 
our course to the West-Indies, Jind arrived off 
the islands, where we cruised for some time. 

Finding it necessary to obtain a supply of 
water, we put into St. Pierre, in the island of 
Martinico, for that purpose ; after which we 
steered towards Dominica, an island north of 
Martinico. The next morning we espied an 
English sloop sailing to leeward of us close 
under the land. We gave chase, and soon 
came up with her. Our captain sent an offi- 
cer and some men on board, and took posses- 
sion of her. 

We then bore away with our prize for St. 



78 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

Juan* in the island of Porto Rico, where our 
captain disposed of the sloop and cargo, part 
of which consisted of fourteen Negroes, who 
were sold to the Spaniards. 

We then continued our cruise ; and in a 
few days fell in with an English schooner, 
which we took, putting some men and a prize- 
master on board, ordered her for Boston, 
where she arrived in safety. 

After cruising for some lime and not falling 
in with any thing, our captain concluded to 
leave the West-India seas and steer for the 
southern coast of the United States. 

We arrived off the bar of Charleston, South- 
Carolina ; and in the course of a few days 
fell in with a ship called the Polly, a letter- 
of-marque, of twenty guns, bound to Lon- 
don. We gave chase late in the afternoon, 
and, as it soon grew dark, we lost sight of 
her. 

A thunder storm 'came on, and all hands 
were watching for her ; and by the flashes 
of the lightning we at length discovered her, 
standing in a different direction from what we 
had at first seen her pursuing. We accord" 
* Commonly called St. John. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 79 

ingly shifted our course, and crowded sail in 
pursuit. By the aid of the lightning, we kept 
in her course, and soon came up with her. 

" What ship is that, and where from ?" 
roared our Heutenant through his trumpet, in 
a voice that bore no sHght resemblance to the 
thunder w4iich rolled above our heads. " The 
ship Polly, from Charleston, bound to Lon- 
don," was the reply. The hghtning, flashing 
upon her colours, showed that they w^ere En- 
glish ; while the enemy had the same means 
of seeing the ilmerican flag flying at our 
mast-head. 

We were completely prepared for action ; 
the matches were lighted ; the lanterns burn- 
ing fore and aft ; and all anxiously waiting 
for the commands of the officers. One shot 
was fired, and our captain ordered the enemy 
to " Haul dow^n his colours, or he would blow 
him out of the water." 

The appearance of our ship being formida- 
ble, our captain's demand was instantly com- 
plied with. Our boat was lowered, and a 
prize-master and crew put on board, wiio took 
possession of the ship, and she w^as ordered 
for Boston. 



80 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

Shortly after, we steered for New-York, 
and arrived off Sandy Hook in the spring. 
After cruising here nearly a week, one morn- 
ing the man at mast-head cried out, " A sail 
upon the larboard quarter." Mr. Little ascen- 
ded to the top, and, after examining her with 
his glass, declared her to be a brig standing in 
for New- York. We immediately gave chase, 
came up with her, and ordered her to heave- 
to till we could send a boat alongside. She 
complied, and, taking her crew on board of 
our ship, put a prize-master and crew on board 
of the brig, and ordered her for Boston. 

Wliile we were manning the prize, the 
man at the mast-head gave notice of " A sail 
on the larboard bows." 

We lost no time in commencing the pursuit^ 
and soon came alongside of her. 

She proved to be a' schooner going into 
New-York. We took from her a quantity of 
bread, cheese, and porter. 

Captain John Foster Williams held con- 
sulation with his officers respecting what 
course it was best to pursue ; and they 
came to the conclusion, that it would not 
be prudent to remain any longer cruising off 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 81 

Sandy Hook, lest we should meet some of 
the British frigates, of too great force for 
us to contend with. Our prizes being in 
sight, signals were made for them to approach. 
The brig we took in tow and ordered the 
schooner to keep in company. We now made 
sail for Boston with a fair wind and anticipa- 
ted the pleasure of sharing a considerable sum 
of prize money on our arrival. 



82 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER YI. 

Our cruise thus far had been prosperous, 
and we thought the " evil day was afar 
off." We continued merrily on our course, 
without seeing friend or foe, during the next 
day ; but, the following morning, the man at 
mast-head cried out, " Two sail to the 
leeward." Mr. Little ascended to the main 
top with his glass, and soon ascertained that 
they were two large ships, closely hauled upon 
the wind, in full chase of us. The brig we 
had in tow was quickly cast off, and she and 
the schooner were ordered to make the best 
progress they could. Our yards were braced, 
and all sail crowded that the ship could 
carry. 

The chase continued, without gaining much 
upon us till about noon, when, the wind shift- 
ing, they fell into our wake, and gained upon 
us very fast. 

A few days previous to this, we had fallen 
in with a brig from Havana for Boston, com- 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 83 

manded by Captaia Cunningham, having a 
large quantity of specie on board. 

Captain C, thinking that the money would 
be more safe on board of an armed ship, re- 
quested it as a favor of Captain Williams to 
receive it on board. Captain X^unningham 
arrived with his brig in safety ; but, to his re- 
gret as well as ours, his money fell into the 
hands of the enemy. 

The ships in pursuit showed French col- 
ours, while we had the American flag flying. 

They appeared to gain upon us, and the 
prospect was, that they would soon over- 
take us. 

Our captain, calling all the hands aft on 
the quarter deck, expressed his opinion, that 
the ships in pursuit of us were English, and 
that we should be captured. 

He then distributed among us the money 
which he had received for safe keeping, in 
sums of fifteen dollars to each, upon condition 
that it should be returned to him if we were 
so fortunate as to escape. 

It was now nearly sun-set, and the enemy 
were gaining upon us rapidly. They had ex- 
changed their French for English colours, 



84 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

thus ending our hopes and doubts respecting 
their character. Our capture was now con- 
sidered no longer problematical ; and, being 
unwilling that the stores, especially of crack- 
ers, cheese, and porter, should fall a prey to 
the appetite of the enemy, and not knowing 
when we should have an opportunity of en- 
joying such luxuries again, I invited about a 
dozen of my friends into the store room, where 
we exerted ourselves to diminish the quantity 
of this part of the prize which we thought 
would shortly be in possession of the enemy. 
The porter made us cheerful if not happy, and 
having eat and drank to our satisfaction, we 
shook hands as friends soon to part, uncertain 
when we should meet again, and returned on 
deck without our absence having been no- 
ticed. 

We found that the two ships had got up 
with us. They proved to be the Roe-Buck, 
a forty-gun ship with a double deck, and the 
May-Day, of twenty-eight guns. 

They had been upon the look-out for us for 
three or four weeks ; having received infor- 
mation from the Tories in Boston that we 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 8^ 

were expected to return from our cruise about 
.this time. 

Tlie Roe-Buck took her station on our lar- 
board quarter, the May-Day on our larboard 
bow, and sent an eighteen-pound shot over 
our quarter-deck. We were then ordered to 
strike our colours, or a broadside would be 
sent to enforce compliance with the demand. 

To attempt resistance against a force so 
much our superior would have been unjustifi- 
able ; and the flag of thirteen stars and 
stripes, under which we had sailed with much 
satisfaction and success, was reluctantly pulled 
down ; and this was the unfortunate end of 
our second cruise. 

The boats of the enemy were manned, and 
sent alongside of our ship. Our crew were 
now permitted by our officers to collect their 
clothing and their little property together, and 
secure them in the best manner they could. 

By this time, the boats had arrived along 
side, and the enemy had ascended the deck. 

Their first exploit was to strike or kick ev- 
ery sailor that came in their way, bestowing 
a variety of opprobrious epithets, among which 
" damned rebels" was of the most frequent 



86 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES " 

recurrence ; then they commenced searching 
in every part of the sliip for articles of 
value. 

Our crew were ordered to pass down the 
side of the ship into the enemy's boats ; but 
were forbidden to carry any thing with them. 
Some of our crew fastened their bedding upon 
their backs, and tumbled themselves head 
foremost down into the boats ; and, as it was 
quite dark; they would unperceived get into 
the cuddy with their bedding, trusting to fu- 
ture circumstances for opportunity to use or 
secrete it. 

"We arrived alongside, and were ordered on 
to the quarter-deck of our captors. Some 
EngUsh sailor among our crew, to recom- 
mend himself to the favor of the British cap- 
tain, had given information respecting the 
money we had secreted about our persons. 
The sergeant of arms was ordered to search 
every one of us till the sum of fifteen dollars 
was found upon each of us. 

Such was the art which some had exercised 
in hiding the money, that they were stripped 
entirely naked before it was found. One fel- 
low had secreted his share so effectually, that 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 87 

it baffled all the searching operations to find 
it ; and the officer, being confident that the 
fellow had it about him, took the satisfaction 
of giving him a tremendous kick in the rear 
by way of conclusion, roaring out at the same 
time, " Away with you, you damned rebel,* 
into the hold." 

In the capacity of cabin steward I was most 
of the time in the cabin, and had recommen- 
ded myself to the favorable notice of the A- 
merican captain by performing my duties to 
his satisfaction : and, when the money was 
distributed among our crew, the captain gave 
me a double share. I put fifteen dollars in 
the crown of my hat, which I pressed down 
upon my head as closely as possible ; the re- 
maining fifteen I placed in my shoes, between 
the soles. 

At length my turn to be searched came ; 
and I, as the rest of my fellow prisoners had 
done, denied having any money. This as- 

* My apology for occasionally repeating such 
profane expressions is, that the young readers may 
know to what insulting and contemptuous language 
their forefathers were exposed while contending, 
with a haughty foe, for liberty and independence. 



88 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

sertion however did not avail ; I was seized 
by the collar, and shaken so violently that my 
hat fell off, and the dollars rolled out upon 
the deck. The sum of fifteen dollars being 
found, it w^as concluded that I had no more, 
and I was sent into the ship's hold, where I 
found those of the crew who had been pre- 
viously searched. A considerable number of 
us contrived by vaiious stratagems to save our 
money, for dollars were found to be quite 
plentiful among us for some time after our 
capture ; and they proved a great conveni- 
ence, as money generally does among friends 
or foes. 

Our accommodations in the hold were not 
very desirable, especially to those who had not 
succeeded in getting their bedding into that 
place. We found nothing to lie upon softer 
than the ship's ballast, consisting of stones of 
all shapes and sizes, with here and there a 
lump of pig iron by way of variety ; and the 
water casks, which afforded a surface rather 
uneven for the comfort and convenience of 
our wearied limbs. 

Here we spent the first night, and were 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 89 

not allowed to go on deck till the next 
morning. 

The Roe-Buck had the charge of the pris- 
oners, while the May-Day was sent in pur- 
suit of the two prizes we had in possession at 
the time of our capture. 

Greatly to our satisfaction, however, she 
was unable to over-haul them, and they both 
arrived in safety in Boston a few days after. 



90 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER VII. 

Shortly after, we ancbored off Sandy 
Hook, and preparations were made to exam- 
ine the prisoners, to ascertain what part of 
them were Englishman ; or rather who 
among them would carry the appearance of 
able-bodied seamen. 

We were called up from the hold ; ordered 
to the larboard side of the quarter-deck ; thence 
marched, in single file; past a number of 
British officers on the starboard side ; after 
that to the gangway, and down again into the 
hold. The object of thus moving in proces- 
sion before the officers was, to give them an 
opportunity to select such as they chose, to 
serve on board of their ships. With fear and' 
trembling we passed through this examina- 
tion. Whenever a healthy, athletic-looking 
man passed by, he was hailed, and accused 
of being an Englishman. In vain would his 
comrades attest to the fact of his being a 
native-born American ; tell the place of his 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 91 

birth and the circumstances of his youth, de- 
tailed with all the consistency and connexion 
which belong to truth : it was all to no pur- 
pose. Sailors they wanted, and have them 
they would, if they set law and gospel at de- 
fiance. In this manner was many an Amer- 
ican citizen, in the morning of life, dragged 
from his country, his friends, and his home ; 
forced on board a ship of war ; compelled to 
fight against his own country ; and, if he liv- 
ed, to fight in battle with other nations, against 
whom he had no feelings of hostility. Many 
a one spent his whole life in foreign service, 
far from his native land, while his relatives 
were ignorant of his fate, till, worn out with 
toil and wounds, a shadow of his former self, 
he dropped into the grave unpitied and un- 
known. 

About a third part of our ship's crew were 
taken on board of their vessels, to serve in the 
capacity of sailors, without regarding their 
remonstrances ; while the remainder of us 
were put on board of a wood coaster, to be 
conveyed on board the noted prison ship called 
the " Jersey." The idea of being incarcera- 
ted in this floating Pandemonium filled us 



92 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

with horror ; but the idea we had formed of 
its horrors fell far short of the reaUties which 
we afterwards experienced. We wished if 
possible to avoid the hard fate that awaited 
us ; and conceived the design of rising upon 
the guard, and seizing upon the sloop and 
running her aground upon the Jersey shore. 
The plan could have been easily executed had 
there been any one among us to act as a lea- 
der in the enterprise. Our captain with his 
officers were confined in the cabin, under the 
watchful care of a number of British officers 
well armed ; while a guard of soldiers stood 
at the head of the companion way, to prevent 
any communication with the prisoners upon 
the deck. Sailors and soldiers have the 
courage to execute, but not the skill to plan. 

Had our captain, in whom we had been in 
the habit of placing the utmost confidence, 
been with us, I have no doubt we should have 
obtained our freedom. 

As the deck was loaded with v70od, we 
could in a moment have obtained weapons 
sufficient for our purpose, and, had any one 
amongst us been disposed to act as a leader, 
we should soon have had possession of the 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 93 

vessel. We afterwards regretted exceedingly 
that we did not make the attempt. 

We proceeded slowly up the riv^er towards 
our much-dreaded place of confinement, and 
at doubling a point we came in sight of the 
gloomy-looking hulk of the old Jersey, aptly 
named by the sailors, "The hell afloat." The 
Jersey was originally a seventy-four gun ship, 
and, at the commencement of the American 
revolution, being found in a state of decay 
and unfit for service at sea, she was disman- 
tled, moored in the East-river at New- York, 
and used as a store-ship. In the year 1780, 
she was converted into a prison-ship, and con- 
tinued to be used for that purpose during the 
remainder of the war. 

In consequence of the fears that were en- 
tertained that the sickness, which prevailed 
among the prisoners, might spread to the 
shore, she was removed, and moored w^ith 
chain cables at the Wallabout, a lonely and 
unfrequented place on the shore of Long- 
Jsland. Her external appearance was forbid- 
ding and gloomy. She was dismantled ; her 
only spars were the bowsprit ; a derrick, that 
looked like a gallows, for hoisting supphes on 



94 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

board ; and a flag-staff at the stern. The 
port-holes were closed and secured. Two tiers 
of holes were cut through her sides, about 
two feet square and about ten feet apart, 
strongly guarded by a grating of iron 
bars. 

Such was the appearance of the Jersey, as 
we approached it ; an appearance well calcu- 
lated to excite the most gloomy forebodings of 
the treatment we should receive after we 
should have become its inmates. The idea of 
being a prisoner in such a place was sufficient 
to fill the mind with grief and distress. The 
heart sickened, the cheek grew pale with tbe 
thought. Our destiny was before us, and 
there was no alternative but to submit. 

The sloop anchored at a little distance from 
the Jersey, and two boats were sent alongside 
to receive us. 

The boats passed and re-passed several 
times before all of us got on board ; and lastly 
the captain's barge was sent to convey our 
officers to their place of confinement. Not a 
great while after we were imprisoned our 
captain, together with the lieutenants and the 
saiUng-master, Mr. Lemon, were sent to Eng- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 95 

land ; the latter, being an Englishman, had 
the comfortable assurance, that he should be 
hanged as soon as he arrived.* 

* TIow long our officers remained in England 1 
have no means for information. Captain Williams 
I found in Boston when I returned. 

On the adoption of the federal constitution by Mas- 
sachusetts, February, 1788, the event was celebrated 
in Boston by a civick procession, in which, I believe, 
the great mass of the citizens participated, classed 
into trades and occupations. Each profession or art 
on this occasion was headed by appropriate flags and 
banners, bearing its respective coat of arms and em- 
blems, accompanied in most cases with implements of 
agricultural, manufacturing, and mechanical industry 
and skill in full operation. Among the most conspicu- 
ous of the.^e, the mariners hg.d mounted a ship on 
wheels, which was drawn through the streets by 13 
white horses, the then number of the United States. 
The ship was manned by veteran sea-captains and 
weather-beaten sailors, throwing the lead, reefing the 
sails, waving the thirteen stripes and stars, and at 
intervals firing salutes from a 3-pounder, under the 
command of John Foster Williams, our late captain, 
who, as I have heard, stood on the quarter-deck with 
a speaking-trumpet in his hand, dressed in continen- 
tal regimentals. A song, to the tune of " Yankee 



96 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

After being detained in the boats alongside 
a little while, we were ordered to ascend to the 
upper deck of the prison ship. Here our 
names were registered, and the capacity in 
which we had served previous to our capture. 

Doodle," appeared among other poetical productions 
in the newspapers of the day, one verse of which 
was in these words : — 

" John Foster Williams in a ship, 
Join'd with the social band, sir. 
And made the lasses dance and skip, 
To see him sail on land, sir. 

Yankee doodle," &c. 
I believe it was at this time, whilst the procession was 
passing thro' High-street, between Summer-street and 
Federal-street (till then called Long-lane), the ship 
was interrupted and entangled by a tree in the street, 
which was finally cut down to give fi'ee passage to 
the tars and their novel vehicle. 

Captain Wilhams was appointed by Gen. Wash- 
ington to the command of a revenue cutter in 1790, 
which office he held to the time of his death. 

He was distinguished for his courage, prudence, 
and humanity, and rendered his country good and 
faithful service. 

He died in Williams-street, Boston, June 24th, 
1814, aged 71. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 97 

Each of us was permitted to retain whatever 
clothing and bedding we had brought, after 
having been examined to ascertain that they 
contained no weapons nor money ; and then 
we were directed to pass through a strong door, 
on the starboard side, down a ladder leading 
to the main hatchway. I now found myself 
in a loathsome prison, among a collection of 
the most wretched and disgusting-looking ob- 
jects that I ever beheld in human form, 

Here was a motley crew, covered with rags 
and filth ; visages pallid with disease, emacia- 
ted with hunger and anxiety, and retaining 
hardly a trace of their original appearance. 
Here were men, who had once enjoyed life 
while riding over the mountain wave or 
roaming through pleasant fields, full of health 
and vigor, now shriveled by a scanty and un- 
wliolesome diet, ghastly v.ith inhaUng an im- 
pure atmosphere, exposed to contagion, in 
contact with disease, and surrounded with the 
horrors of sickness and death. Here, thought 
I, must 1 Hnger out the morning of my life, in 
tedious days and sleepless nights, enduring a 
weary and degrading captivity, till death shall 
9 



98 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

terminate my sufferings, and no friend will 
know of my departure. A prisoner on board 
of " the old Jersey" ! The very thought was 
appalling. I could hardly realize my situation. 
The first thing we found it necessary to do 
after our captivity was to form ourselves into 
small parties, called " messes," consisting of 
six men each ; as, previous to doing this, we 
could obtain no food. All the prisoners were 
obliged to fast on the first day of their arrival ; 
and seldom on the second could they procure 
any food in season for cooking it. No matter 
how himgry they were, no deviation from the 
rules of the ship was permitted. All the pris- 
oners fared alike ; officers and sailors received 
the same treatment on board of this old hulk. 
Our keepers were no respecters of persons. 
We were all " Rebels." The quantity and 
quality of our fare was the same for all. The 
only distinction known among us was made 
by the prisoners themselves, which was shown 
in allowing those, who had been officers pre- 
vious to their capture, to congregate in the ex- 
treme after-part of the ship, and to keep it 
exclusively to themselves as their places of 
abode. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 99 

The various messes of the prisoners were 
numbered ; and nine in the morning was the 
hour, when the steward would deliver from 
the window in his room, at the after-part of 
the ship, the allowance granted to each mess. 
Each mess chose one of their company to be 
prepared to answer to their number when it 
was called by the steward, and to receive the 
allowance as it was handed from the window^ 
Whatever was thrust out must be taken ; no 
change could be made in its quantity or qual- 
ity. Each mess received daily what was 
equivalent in weight or measure, but not in 
quahty, to the rations of four men at full al- 
lowance : that is, each prisoner received tw^o- 
thirds as much as w^as allowed to a seaman in 
the British navy. 

Our bill of fare was as follows : 

On Sunday, one pound of biscuit, one pound 
of pork, and half of a pint of peas. Monday, 
one pound of biscuit, one pint of oat-meal, and 
two ounces of butter. Tuesday, one pound of 
biscuit, and two pounds of salt beef Wednes- 
day, one and a half pounds of tlour, and two 
ounces of suet. Thursday was a repetition of 



100 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

Sunday's fare, Friday of Monday's, and Sat- 
urday of Tuesday's. 

If this food had been of a good qnaUty and 
properly cooked, as we had no labor to perform, 
it would have kept us comfortable, at least 
from suffering. But this was not the case. All 
our food appeared to be damaged. 

The bread was mouldy, and filled with 
worms. It required considerable rapping upon 
the deck before the worms could be dislodged 
from their lurking places in a biscuit. 

As for the pork, we were cheated out of it 
more than half of the time : and, when it was 
obtained, one would have judged from its mot- 
ley hues, exhibiting the consistence and ap- 
pearance of variegated fancy soap, that it was 
the flesh of the porpoise, or sea-hog, and had 
been an inhabitant of the ocean rather than 
of the sty. But, whatever doubts might arise 
respecting the genera or species of the beast, 
the flavor of the flesh was so unsavory that it 
would have been rejected as unfit for the stuf- 
fing even of Bologna sausages. 

The peas were generally damaged, and/rom 
the imperfect manner in which they were 
cookd, were about as indigestible as grape- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 101 

shot. The butter the reader will not suppose 
was the real " Goshen ;" and had it not been 
for its adhesive properties to retain too^ether the 
particles of the biscuit, that had been so riddled 
by the worms as to lose all their attraction of 
cohesion, we should have considered it no de- 
sirable addition to our viands. 

The flour and the oat-meal were often sour, 
and when the suet was mixed with it, we 
should have considered it a blessing to have 
been destitute of the sense of smeUing before 
we admitted it into our mouths : it might be 
nosed half the length of the ship. 

And last, though not the least item among 
our staples in the eating line — our beef The 
first view of it would excite an idea of venera- 
tion for its antiquity, and not a httle curiosity 
to ascertain to what kind of an animal it origi- 
nally belonged. Its colour was of dark ma- 
hogany ; and its solidity would have set the 
keen edge of a broad-axe at defiance to cut 
across the grain, though like oakum, it could 
be pulled into pieces one way in strings, like 
rope-yarn. A streak of fat in it would have 
been a phenomenon, that would have brought 
all the prisoners together to see and admire. It 



102 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

was so completely saturated with salt, that, 
after having been boiled in water taken from 
the sea, it was found to be considerably fresh- 
ened by the process. It was no uncommon 
thing to find it extremely tender ; but then 
this peculiarity was not owing to its being a 
prime cut from a premium ox, but rather ow- 
ing to its long keeping — the vicissitudes of 
heat and cold, of humidity and aridity it had 
experienced in the course of time : and of this 
disposition to tenderness we were duly apprized 
by the extraordinary fragrance it emitted be- 
fore and after it was cooked. It required 
more skill than we possessed to determine 
whether the flesh, which we were obliged to 
devour, had once covered the bones of some 
luckless bull that had died from starvation ; 
or of some worn-out horse that had been killed 
for the crime of having outlived his useful- 
ness. 

Such was our food : But the quahty of it 
was not all that we had reason to complain 
of. The manner in which it was cooked was 
more injurious to our health, than the quality 
of tl]e food ; and, in many cases, laid the foun- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 103 

dation of diseases, that brought many a suf- 
ferer to his grave, years after his liberation. 

The cooking for the prisoners was done in 
a great copper vessel, that contained between 
two and three hogsheads of water set in brick 
work. The form of it was square, and it was 
divided into two compartments by a partition. 
In one of these, the peas and oatmeal were 
boiled ; this was done in fresh w^ater : in the 
other, the meat was boiled, in salt water, ta- 
ken up from alongside of the ship. 

The Jersey, from her size and lying near 
the shore, was imbedded in the mud ; and I 
do not recollect seeing her afloat during the 
whole time 1 was a prisoner.* All the filth 
that accumulated among upwards of a thou- 
sand men was daily thrown overboard, and 
would remain there till carried away by the 
tide. The impurity of the water may be ea- 
sily conceived ; and in this water our meat 
w^as boiled. 

It will be recollected too that the water was 
salt, which caused the inside of the copper to 

* The tides in New-York do not generally rise or 
fall above two or three feet. 



104 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

become corroded to such a degree that it was 
lined with a coat of verdigris. Meat thus 
cooked must in some degree be poisoned ; and 
the effects of it were manifest in the cadaverous 
countenances of the emaciated beings, who 
had remained on board for any length of time. 

The persons, chosen by each Mess to re- 
ceive their portions of food, were summoned 
by the cook's bell to receive their allowance, 
and, when it had remained in the boiler \3 
certain time, the bell would again sound, and 
the allowance must be immediately taken a- 
way : whether it was sufficiently cooked, or 
not, it could remain no longer. The food 
was generally very imperfectly cooked ; yet 
this sustenance, wretched as it was, and de- 
ficient in quantity, was greedily devoured by 
the half-starved prisoners. 

No vegetables were allowed us. Many 
times since, when I have seen in the country, 
a large kettle of potatoes and pumpkins steam- 
ing over the fire to satisfy the appetites of a 
farmer's swine, I have thought of our destitute 
and starved condition, and what a luxury we 
should have considered the contents of that 
kettle on board the Jersey. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 105 

The prisoners were confined in the two 
main decks below. The lowest dungeon was 
inhabited by those prisoners who were foreign- 
ers, and whose treatment was more severe 
than that of the Americans. 

The inhabitants of this lower region were 
the most miserable and disgusting-looking ob- 
jects that can be conceived. Daily washing 
with salt water, together with their extreme 
emaciation, caused their skin to appear hke 
dried parchment. Many of them remained 
unwashed for weeks ; their hair long and 
matted, and filled with vermin ; their beards 
never cut, excepting occasionally with a pair 
of shears, which did not improve their comeli- 
ness, though it might add to their comfort. 
Their clothes were mere rags, secured to their 
bodies in every way that ingenuity could devise. 

Many of these men had been in this lamen- 
table condition for two years, part of the 
time on board other prison-ships ; and, having 
given up all hope of ever being exchanged, 
had become resigned to their situation. These 
men were foreigners, whose whole lives had 
been one continual scene of toil, hardship, and 
suffering. Their feelings were blunted, their 



106 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

dispositions soured ; they had no sympathies 
for the world ; no home to mourn for ; no 
friends to lament for their fate. 

But far different was the condition of the 
most numerous class of the prisoners, compo- 
sed mostly of young men from New-England 
fresh from home. They had reason to de- 
plore the sudden change in their condition. 
The thoughts of home, of parents, brothers, 
sisters, and friends, would crowd upon their 
minds ; and, " brooding on what they had 
been, and what they were, their desire for 
home became a madness." The dismal and 
disgusting scene around ; the wretched objects 
continually in sight, and " hope deferred, 
which maketh the heart sick," produced a 
state of melancholy, that often ended in death 
— the death of a broken heart. 

" O ye ! who, sunk in beds of down, 
Feel not a want but what yourselves create, 
Think, for a moment, on his wretched fate, 
Whom friends and fortune quite disown. 
Ill-satisfy'd keen nature's clam'rous call. 

Stretch'd on his straw, he lays himself to sleep 

Think on the dungeon's grim confine, 
Where guilt and poor misfortune pine 



OF EBENEZER FOX 107 

The wretch, already crushed low 
By cruel fortune's undeserved blow." 

In the morning, the prisoners were permit- 
ted to ascend the upper deck, to spend the day, 
till ordered below at sunset. A certain num- 
ber, who were for the time called the "Work- 
ing Party," performed in rotation the duty of 
bringing up hammocks and bedding for airing, 
likewise the sick and infirm, and the bodies of 
those who had died during the night : of these 
there were generally a number every morn- 
ing. After these services, it was their duty to 
wash the decks. Our beds and clothing were 
allowed to remain on deck till w^e were order- 
ed below for the night ; this was of considera- 
ble benefit, as it gave some of the vermin an 
opportunity to migrate from the quarters they 
had inhabited. 

About two hours before sun-set, orders w^ere 
given to the prisoners to carry all their things 
below ; but we were permitted to remain 
above till we retired for the night into our un- 
healthy and crowded dungeons. At sun-set, 
our ears \^'ere saluted with the insulting and 
hateful sound from our keepers, of " Down, 



108 REVOLUTIONARY ADVE:NTURES 

rebels, down." and we were hurried below, the 
hatchways fastened over us, and we were left 
to pass the night amid the accumulated hor- 
rors of sighs and groans, of foul vapor, a nau- 
seous and putrid atmosphere, in a stifled and 
almost suffocating heat. The tiers of holes 
through the sides of the ship were strongly gra- 
ted, but not provided with glass ; and it was 
considered a privilege to sleep near one of these 
apertures in hot weather for the pure air that 
passed in at them. But httle sleep however 
could be enjoyed even there ; for the vermin 
were so horribly abundant, that all the perso- 
nal cleanliness we could practise would not 
protect us from their attacks, or prevent their 
effecting a lodgement upon us. 

When any of the prisoners died in the night, 
their bodies were brought to the upper deck 
in the morning, and placed upon the gratings. 
If the deceased had owned a blanket, any 
prisoner might sew it around the corpse, and 
then it was lowered with a rope, tied round the 
middle, down the side of the ship into a boat. 
Some of the prisoners were allowed to go on shore, 
under a guard, to perform the labor of interment. 
Having arrived on shore, they found in a small 



OF EBENEZER FOX, 109 

hut some tools for digging', and a hand-barrow 
on which the body was conveyed to the place 
for burial. 

Here in a bank near the Wallabout, a hole 
was excavated in the sand, in which the body 
was puty and then slightly covered ; the 
guard not giving time sufficient to perform 
this melancholy service in a faithful manner. 
Many bodies would, in a few days after this 
mockery of a burial, be exposed nearly bare 
by the action of the elements. 
" By feeble hands their shallow graves were made j 

No stone, memorial of their corpses, laid. 

In barren sands, and flir from home, they lie, 

No friend to shed a tear when passing by ; 

O'er the mean tombs insulting foemen tread ; 

Spurn at the sand, and curse the rebel dead." 

This was the last resting place of many a 
son and brother ; young and noble-spirited 
men, who had left their happy homes and 
kind friends to offer their lives in the service 
of their country ; but they little thought of 
such a termination to their active career, they 
had not expected to waste their energies in 
this dreadful prison. 

Poor fellows ! they suffered more than their 



110 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

older companions in misery. The}/ could not 
endure the hopeless and wearisome captivity ; 
to live on, from day to day, denied the power 
of doing any thing ; condemned to that irk- 
some and heart-sickening of all situations, ut- 
ter inactivity ; their restless and impetu- 
ous spirits, like caged lions, panted to be free, 
and the conflict was too much for endurance, 
enfeebled and worn-out as they were with 
suffering and confinement. 

" Denied the comforts of a dying bed, 
With nol a pillow to support the head ; 
How could they else but pine, and grieve and sigh. 
Detest that wretched life, and wish to die ?" 

It was a painful task for the prisoners to 
carry, to this unconsecrated burial place, the 
bodies of those who had been their companions 
for months perhaps, and who were endeared 
to them by their love for the same glorious 
cause, and the same feeling of resentment to- 
ward their unmanly oppressors. 

The fate of many of these unhappy victims 
must have remained forever unknown to their 
friends ; for, in so large a number, no exact 
account could be kept of those who died, and 



OF EBENEZER FOX. Ill 

they rested in a nameless grave ; while those, 
who performed the last sad rites, were hurried 
away before their task was half completed, 
and forbidden to express their horror and in- 
dignation at this insulting negligence toward 
the dead. 

But the emotions, thus suppressed, only 
glowed the more intensely within their bosoms, 
and contributed as much as any other cause 
to keep alive the hatred and animosity to- 
ward their enemies. 



112 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER YIII. 

-The regular crew of the Jersey consisted of 
a captain, two mates, a steward, a cook, and 
about a dozen sailors. There was likewise 
on board a guard of ten or twelve old invalid 
marines, who were unfit for active service ; 
and a guard of about thirty soldiers, from the 
different regiments quartered on Long Island, 
who were relieved by a fresh party every week. 

The physical force of the prisoners was suf- 
ficient at any time to take possession of the 
ship ; but the difficulty waS; to dispose of 
themselves after a successful attempt. Long 
Island was in possession of the British, and 
the inhabitants were favorable to the British 
cause. To leave the ship, and land upon the 
island, would be followed by almost certain 
detection ; and the miseries of our captivity 
would be increased by additional cruelties 
heaped upon us from the vindictive feelings of 
our oppressors. 

Yet, small as was the chance for succeed- 
ing in the undertaking, the attempt to escape 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 113 

was often made, and in not a few instances 
with success. 

Our sufferings were so intolerable, that wa 
felt it to be our duty to expose ourselves to al- 
most any risk to obtain our liberty. To re- 
main on board of the prison ship^ seemed to be 
certain death, and in its most horrid form ; to 
be killed, while endeavoring to get away, 
could be no worse. 

American prisoners are proverbial for their 
ingenuity in devising ways and means to ac- 
complish their plans, whether they be devised 
for their own comfort and benefit, or for the 
purpose of annoying and tormenting their 
keepers. 

Although we were guarded with vigilance, 
yet there did not appear much system in the 
management of the prisoners ; for we frequent- 
ly missed a whole " mess" from our number, 
while their disappearance was not noticed by 
our keepers. Occasionally a few would be 
brought back, who had been found in the 
woods upon Long Island, and taken up by 
the '' Tories." 

Our mess one day noticed, that the mess 
10 



114 REVOLUTIONAP.Y ADVENTURES 

that occupied the place next to them were a- 
mong the missuig. This circumstance led to 
much conjecture and enquiry respecting the 
manner in which they had eflected their es- 
cape. By watching the niovemenls of our 
neighbors, we soon found out the process ne- 
cessary to be adopted. Any plan, which a 
mess had formed, they kept a secret among 
their number, in order to insure a greater pros- 
pect of success. In this way, we were kept 
ignorant for a long time of the manner in 
which the undertaking was accomplished. 

For the convenience of the officers of the 
prison ship, a closet, called the '• round house," 
had been constructed under the forecastle, the 
door of which was kept locked. This room 
was seldom used, there being other conveni- 
ences in the ship preferable to it. 

Some of the prisoners had contrived to pick 
the lock of the door ; and, as it was not dis- 
covered, the door remained unfastened. 

After we had missed our neighboring pris- 
oners, and had ascertained to our satisftvction 
their mode of operation, the members of our 
Mess determined to seize the first opportunity 
offered to attempt our escape. We selected a 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 115 

day, about the fifteenth of August, and made 
all the preparations in our power for ensuring 
us success in our undertaking. 

At sun-set, when the usual cry from the of- 
ficer of the guard, " Down, rebels, down," was 
heard, instead of following the multitude down 
the hatchwa3''s, our mess, consisting of six, all 
Americans, succeeded in getting into the 
^' round house," excepting one. The round 
house was found too small to contain more 
than five ; and the sixth man, whose name, 1 
think, was Putnam, of Boston, concealed him- 
self under a large tub, that happened to be ly- 
ing near the place of our confinement. 

The situation of the five, as closely packed 
in the " round house" as we could stand and 
breathe, w^as so uncomfortable as to make us 
very desirous of vacating it as soon as possible. 

We remained thus cooped up, hardly daring 
to breathe, for fear that we should be heard by 
the guard. The prisoners were all below, and 
no noise w^as heard above, saving the tramp 
of the guard as he paced the deck. 

It was customary, after the prisoners were 
secured below, for the ship's mate every night 
to search above : this however was considered 



116 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

a mere form, and the duty was very imper- 
fectly executed. While we were anxiously 
waiting for the completion of this service, an 
event transpired, that we little anticipated, and 
which led to our detection. 

One of the prisoners, an Irishman, had 
made his arrangements to escape the same 
evening, and had not communicated with any 
one on the subject, excepting a countryman of 
his, whom he persuaded to bury him up in the 
coal hole, near the forecastle. Whether his 
friend covered him faithfully or not, or whether 
the Irishman thought that if he could not see 
any body, nobody could see him, or whether, 
feeling uncomfortable in his position, he turned 
over to relieve himself, I know not ; but, when 
the mate looked into the coal-hole, he espied 
something rather whiter than the coal, which 
he soon ascertained to be the Irishman's shoul- 
der. This discovery made the officer suspi- 
cious, and induced him to make a more 
thorough search than usual. We heard the 
uproar that followed the discovery, and the 
threats of the mate that he " would search ev- 
ery hole and corner.*' He soon arrived at the 
round house, and we heard him ask a soldier 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 117 

for the key. Our hopes and expectations were 
a little raised, when we heard tlie soldier re- 
ply, " there is no need of searching this place, 
for the door is kept constantly locked." But 
the mate was not to be diverted from his pur- 
pose, and ordered the soldier to get the key. 

During the absence of the soldier, we had a 
little time to reflect upon the dangers of our 
situation ; crowded together in a space so 
small as not to admit of motion, with no other 
protection than the thickness of a board ; 
guarded on the outside by about a dozen sol- 
diers, armed with cutlasses ; and the mate, 
considerably drunk, with a pistol in each hand, 
threatening to fire through, every moment, 
our feelings n)ay be more easily conceived than 
described. There was but little time for de- 
liberation ; something must be immediately 
done. We knew, that, as soon as we should 
be compelled to quit our hiding-place, our des- 
tination would be the quarter-deck for the 
night ; the luxury of sleeping below would 
not be granted to prisoners detected in the hei- 
nous crime of attempting their escape. 

In a whispering consultation of a few mo- 
ments, we concluded that the safest course we 



118 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

could pursue would be to break out with all 
the violence we could exercise, overcome every 
obstacle, and reach the quarter-deck. By this 
time, the soldier had arrived with the key, 
and upon applying it, the door was found to 
be unlocked. We now heard our last sum- 
mons from the mate, with imprecations too 
horrid to repeat, and threatening us with instant 
destruction if we did not immediately come out. 

To remain any longer where we were 
would have been certain death to some of us ; 
we therefore carried our hastily-formed plan 
into operation. The door opened outwards, 
and, forming ourselves into a solid body, we 
burst open the door, rushed out pell-mell, and, 
making a brisk use of our fists, knocked the 
o-uard heels over head in all directions, at the 
same time running with all possible speed for 
the quarter-deck. As I rushed out, being in 
the rear, I received a wound from a cutlass on 
my side, the scar of which remains to thisda}^ 

As nearly all the guard were prostrated by 
our unexpected sally, we arrived at our des- 
tined place, without being pursued by any 
thing but curses and threats. 

The mate exercised his authorit)? to protect 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 119 

US from the rage of the soldiers who were in 
pursuit of us as soon as they had recovered 
from the prostration into which they had invol- 
untarily been thrown ; and, with the assist- 
ance of the captain's mistress, whom the noise 
had brought upon deck, and whose sympathy 
was excited when she saw w^e were about to 
be murdered : she placed herself between us 
and the enraged guard, and made such an 
outcry as to bring the captain up, who ordered 
the guard to take their station at a certain dis- 
tance and watch us narrowly. We were all 
put in irons, our feet being fastened to a long 
bar, a guard placed over us, and in this man- 
ner we were left to spend the night. 

During the time of the transactions related, 
our fellow prisoner, Putnam, remained quiet 
under the tub, and heard the noise around his 
hiding place. He was not suffered to remain 
long in suspense. A soldier lifted up the tub^ 
and, seeing the poor prisoner, thrust his bayo- 
net into his body just above his hip, and then 
drove him to the quarter-deck to take his sta- 
tion in irons among us. The blood flowed 
profusely from his wound, and he was soon 
after sent on board of the hospital ship, and 



120 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

we never heard any thing respecting him 
afterwards. 

With disappointed expectations, we passed 
a dreary night. A cold fog, followed by rain, 
came on ; to which we were exposed, without 
any blankets or covering to protect us from the 
inclemency of the weather. Our sufferings of 
mind and body during that horrible night ex- 
ceeded any that I have ever experienced. We 
were chilled almost to death, and the only way 
we could preserve heat enough in our bodies 
to prevent our perishing was to he upon each 
other by turns. Morning at length came, and 
we were released from our fetters. Our limbs 
were so stiff that we could hardly stand. Our 
fellow prisoners assisted us below, and, wrap- 
ping us in blankets, we were at length res- 
tored to a state of comparative comfort. 

For attempting to escape we were punished 
by having our miserable allowance reduced 
one-third in quantity for a month ; and we 
had found the whole of it hardly sufficient to 
sustain life. This diminution in our fare was 
the only variety we experienced in our mo- 
notonous lives for several weeks. 

One day a boat came alongside, containing 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 121 

about sixty firkins of giease, which they called 
butter. The prisoners were always ready to 
assist in the performance of any labor necessa- 
ry to be done on board of the ship, as it afford- 
ed some little relief to the tedious monotony of 
their lives. On this occasion, they were ready 
to assist in hoisting the butter on board. The 
firkins were first deposited upon the deck, and 
then lowered down the main hatchway. Some 
of the prisoners, who were the most officious in 
giving their assistance, contrived to secrete a 
firkin, by rolling it forward under the forecas- 
tle, and afterwards carrying it below in their 
bedding. 

This was considered as quite a wind-fall ; 
and, being divided among a few of us, proved 
a considerable luxury. It helped to fill up the 
pores in our mouldy bread, when the worms 
were dislodged, and gave to the crumbling par- 
ticles a little more consistence. 

Several weeks after our unsuccessful at- 
tempt to escape, another one, attended with 
better success, was made by a number of the 
prisoners. At sunset the prisoners were driven 
below, and the main hatchway was closed. In 
11 



122 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

this there was a small trap-door, large enough 
for a man to pass through, and a sentinel was 
placed over it with orders to permit but one 
prisoner at a time to come up during the night. 

The plan that had been formed was this : 
One of the prisoners should ascend, and dis- 
pose of the sentinel in such a manner that he 
should be no obstacle in the way of those who 
were to follow. 

Among the soldiers was an Irishman, who^ 
in consequence of having a head of hair re- 
markable for its curly appearance, and withal 
a very crabbed disposition, had been nickna- 
med " Bill}' the Ram." He was the sentry 
on deck this night, for one was deemed suffi- 
cient, as the prisoners were considered secure 
when they were below, having no other place 
of egress saving the trap-door over which the 
sentinel was stationed. Late in the nighty 
one of the prisoners, a bold, athletick fellow^ 
ascended upon deck, and in an artful manner 
engaged the attention of " Billy the Ram," in 
conversation respecting the war ; lamenting- 
that he had ever engaged in so unnatural a 
contest ; expressing his intention of enlisting^ 
in the British service ; and requesting Billy's 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 123 

advice as to the course necessary to be pursued 
to obtain the confidence of the officers. 

Billy happened to be in a mood to take 
some interest in his views, and showed an in- 
cHnation, quite uncommon for him, to prolong- 
the conversation. Unsuspicious- of any evil 
design on the part of the prisoner, and while 
leaning carelessly on his gun, " Billy" receiv- 
ed a tremendous blow from the fist of his en- 
tertainer, on the bade of his head, which 
brought him to the deck in a state of insensi- 
bility. As soon as he was heard to fall by 
those below, who were anxiously waiting the 
result of the friendly conversation of their 
pioneer with " Billy," and were satisfied that 
the final knock-down argument had been giv- 
en ; they began to ascend, and, one after an- 
other, to jump overboard, to the amount of 
about thirty. 

The noise aroused the guard, who came 
upon deck, where they found " Billy," not suf- 
ficiently recovered from the stunning effects of 
the blow he had received, to give any account 
of the transaction. A noise was heard in the 
water ; but it was so dark that no object could 
be distinguished. The attention of the guard 



124 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

however was directed to certain spots, which 
exhibited a luminous appearance, which salt 
water is known to assume in the night when 
it is agitated ; and to these appearances they 
directed their fire, and, getting out the boats, 
picked up about half of the number that at- 
tempted to escape, many of whom were wound- 
ed,though no one was killed. The rest escaped. 

During the uproar overhead, the prisoners 
belovi^ encouraged the fugitives and expressed 
their approbation of their proceedings in three 
hearty cheers ; for which gratification we suf- 
fered our usual punishment — a short allow- 
ance of our already short and miserable fare. 

For about a fortnight after this transaction, 
it would have been a hazardous experiment 
to approach near to " Billy the Ram," and it 
was a long time before we ventured to speak 
to him, and finally to obtain from him an ac- 
count of the events of that evening. 

Not long after this, another successful at- 
tempt to escape was made, which for its bold- 
ness is perhaps unparalleled in the history of 
such transactions. 

One pleasant morning, about ten o'clock, a 
boat came alongside, containing a number of 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 125 

gentlemen from New- York, who came for the 
purpose of gratifying themselves with a sight 
of the miserable tenants of the prison-ship : 
influenced by the same kind of curiosity that 
induces some people to travel a great distance 
to witness an execution. 

The boat, which was a beautiful yawl, and 
sat like a swan upon the water, was manned 
by four oarsmen, with a man at the helm. 
Considerable attention and respect was shown 
to the visitors, the ship's side being manned 
when they showed their intention of coming 
on board, and the usual naval courtesies ex- 
tended. The gentlemen were soon onboard ; 
and the crew of the yawl, having secured her 
to the fore-chains on the larboard side of the 
ship, were permitted to ascend the deck. 

*A soldier as usual was pacing with a slow 
and measured tread the whole length of the 
deck, wheeling round with military precision 
when he arrived at the end of his walk ; and, 
whether upon this occasion any one interested 
in his movements had secretly slipped a guinea 
into his hand, not to quicken^ but to retard his 
progress, was never known ; but it was evi- 
dent to the prisoners that he had never occu- 



126 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

pied so much time before in measuring the 
distance with his back to the place where the 
yawl was fastened. At this time, there were 
sitting in the forecastle, apparently admiring 
the beautiful appearance of the yawl, four 
mates and a captain, who had been brought 
on board as prisoners a few days previous, ta- 
ken in some vessel from a southern port. 

As soon as the sentry had passed these men, 
in his straight-forward march, they in a very 
quiet manner lowered themselves down into 
the yawl, cut the rope, and the four mates ta- 
king in hand the oars, while the captain man- 
aged the helm, in less time than I have taken 
to describe it, they were under full sweep from 
the ship. They plied the oars with such 
vigor, that every stroke they took seemed to 
take the boat out of the water. In the m^n 
time, the sentry heard nothing and saw noth- 
ing of this transaction, till he had arrived at 
the end of his march, when, in wheeling slow- 
ly round, he could no longer affect ignorance, 
or avoid seeing that the boat was several times 
its length from the ship. He immediately 
fired ; but, whether he exercised his best skill 
as a marksman, or whether it was on account 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 127 

of the boat going ahead its whole length at 
every pull of the rowers, I could never exactly 
ascertain : but the ball fell harmless into the 
Wsfiter. The report of the gun brought the 
whole guard out, who blazed away at the fu- 
gitives, without producing any diniinution in 
tiie rapidity of their progress. 

By this time, the officers of the ship were on 
deck with their visitors ; and, while all were 
gazing with astonishment at the boldness and 
effrontery of the achievement, and the guard 
were firing as fast as they could load their 
guns, the captain in the yawl left the helm, 
and, standing erect in the stern, with his back 
to the Jersey, bending his body to a right an- 
gle, he exhibited the broadest part of himself 
to their view, and with a significant gesture 
directed their attention to it as a proper target 
for the exercise of their skill. This contemptuous 
defiance caused our captain to swell with rage ; 
and when the prisoners gave three cheers to 
the yawl's crew as expressive of their joy at 
their success, he ordered all of us to be driven 
below at the point of the bayonet, and there 
we were confined the remainder of the day. 
These five men escaped, greatly to themortifi- 



228 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

cation of the captain and officers of the prison- 
ship. After this, as long as I remained a pris- 
oner, whenever any visitors came on board, all 
the prisoners were driven below, where they 
were obhged to remain till the company had 
departed. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The miseries of our condition were contin- 
ually increasing : the pestilence on board 
spread rapidly, and every day added to our bill 
of mortality. The young, in a particular 
manner, were its most frequent victims. The 
number of the prisoners was continually in- 
creasing, notwithstanding the frequent and 
successful attempts to escape : and when we 
were mustered and called upon to answer to 
our names, and it was ascertained that nearly 
two hundred had mysteriously disappeared 
without leaving any information of their de- 
parture, the officers of the ship endeavored to 
make amends for their past remissness by in- 
creasing the rigor of our confinement, and de- 
priving us of all hope of adopting any of the 
means for liberating ourselves from our cruel 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 129 

thraldom, so successfully practised by many 
of our comrades. 

With the hope that some relief might be ob- 
tained to meliorate the wretchedness of our 
situation, the prisoners petitioned Gen.Chnton, 
commanding the British forces in- New-York, 
for permission to send a memorial to General 
Washington, describing our condition, and re- 
questing his influence in our behalf, that some 
exchange of prisoners might be effected. 

Permission was obtained, and tlie memorial 
was sent. In a few days^ an answer was re- 
ceived from Gen. Washington, containing ex- 
pressions full of interest and sympathy, but de- 
claring his inability to do any thing for our 
relief by way of exchange, as his authority did 
not extend to the marine department of the 
service, and that soldiers could not consistently 
be exchanged for sailors. He declared his in- 
tention however to lay our memorial before 
Congress, and that no exertion should be 
spared by him to mitigate our sufferings. 

Gen. Washington at the same time sent let- 
ters to Gen. Clinton, and to the British Com- 
missary of Prisoners, in which he remonstrated 
against their cruel treatment of the American 



130 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

prisoners, and threatened, if our situationwa s 
not made more tolerable, to retaliate by pla- 
cing British prisoners in circumstances as rig- 
orous and uncomfortable as were our own : 
that " with what measure they meted the same 
should be measured to them again." 

We experienced after this some little im- 
provement in our food, but no relaxation in 
the severity of our confinement. The inter- 
position of Divine Providence, or removal from 
our loathsome prison, seemed the only preser- 
vative from the pestilence which " walked in 
darkness and destroyed at noon-day." 

The long detention of American sailors on 
board of British prison-ships was to be attribu- 
ted to the little pains that were taken by our 
countrymen to retain British subjects, who 
were taken prisoners on the ocean during the 
war. Our privateers captured many British 
seamen ; who, when willing to enlist in our 
service, as was generally the case, were receiv- 
ed on board of our ships. Those, who were 
brought into port, were suffered to go at large ; 
for, in the impoverished condition of the coun- 
try, no state or town was willing to subject it- 
self to the expense of maintaining prisoners in 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 131 

a State of confinement : they were permitted 
to provide for themselves. In this way, the 
number of British seamen was too small for a 
regular and equal exchange. Thus the Brit- 
ish seamen, after their capture, enjoyed the 
blessings of liberty, the light of the sun, and 
the purity of the atmosphere, while the poor 
American sailors were compelled to drag out 
a miserable existence amid want and distress, 
fomine and pestilence. As every principle of 
justice and humanity was disregarded by the 
British in the treatment of their prisoners, so 
likewise every morcd and legal right was vio- 
lated in compelling them to enter into their 
service. 

We had obtained some information in rela- 
tion to an expected draught that would soon 
be made upon the prisoners to fill up a com- 
plement of men that were wanted for the ser- 
vice of his majesty's fleet. 

One day, in the latter part of August, our 
fears of the dreaded event were realized. A 
British officer w^ith a number of soldiers came 
on board. The prisoners were all ordered on 
deck, placed on the larboard gangway, and 
marched in single file round to the quarter- 



132 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

deck, wliere the officers stood to inspect them 
and select such ones as suited their fancies, 
without any reference to the rights of the pris- 
oners, or considering at all the duties they ow- 
ed to the land of their nativity, or the govern- 
ment for which they had fought and suffered. 

The argument was, " Men we w^ant, and 
men we will have." We continued to march 
round, in solemn and melancholy procession, 
till they had selected from among ournumher 
about three hundred of the ablest, nearly all 
of whom were Americans ; and they were di- 
rected to go below under a guard, to collect to- 
gether whatever things they wished to take 
belonging to them. They were then driven 
into the boats, waiting alongside, and left the 
prison-ship, not to enjoy their freedom, but to 
be subjected to the iron despotism, and galling 
slaver}^ of a British man-of-war ; to waste their 
lives in a foreign service ; and toil for masters 
whom they hated. Such, however, were the 
horrors of our situation as prisoners, and so 
small was the prospect of relief, that we almost 
envied the lot of those who left the ship to go 
into the service even of our enem}^ 

That the reader may not think I have giv- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 133 

en an exaggerated account of our sufferings 
on board of the Jersey, I will here introduce 
some facts related in the *Histories of the Rev- 
olutionary War. I introduce them as an apol- 
ogy for the course that 1 and many of my 
fellow-citizens adopted to obtain a -temporary 
relivif from our sufferings. 

The prisoners, captured by Sir William 
Howe in 1776, amounted to several hundreds. 

The officers only w^ere admitted to parole, 
and had miserable quarters assigned them, but 
the privates were confined in prisons, deserted 
churches, and other large open buildings ; en- 
tirely unfit for the habitations of human be- 
ings, in severe winter weather, without any of 
the most ordinary comforts of life. 

To the everlasting and indelible disgrace of 
the British name, these unfortunate victims of 
I a barbarity more befitting savages, than gen- 
Itlemen belonging to a nation boasting itself to 
I be the most enlightened and civiHzed in the 
iworld, perished many hundreds of them, from 
want of proper food and attention. 
' The cruelty of their inhuman jailors was not 

I * See Gordon's, Ramsay's, and Botta's Histories 
of the American Revolution. 



134 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

terminated by the death of these wretched 
men, as so little care was taken to remove 
their bodies, that seven corpses have been 
seen at one time lying in one of these build- 
ings in the midst of their Hving fellow-prison- 
ers, who were, perhaps, envying them their 
release from misery. 

The food, given the imprisoned " rebels" as 
the British called them, was not only deficient 
in quantity ; but even the scanty portion dealt 
them was such, as would scarcely be tolerated 
by the meanest beggar, being generally that 
which had been rejected by the British ships 
as unfit to be eaten by the sailors, and un- 
wholesome in the highest degree, as well as 
disgusting in taste and appearance. 

In December, 1776, the American board of 
war, after procuring such evidence as convin- 
ced them of the truth of their statement, re- 
ported : " That there were nine hundred pri- 
vates, and three hundred oflficers, of the Amer- 
ican army, prisoners in the city of New- York, 
and five hundred privates and fifty oflScers, in 
Philadelphia. That, since the beginning of 
October, all these prisoners, both officers and 
privates, had been confined in prison-ships or 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 135 

the provost. That, from the best evidence the 
subject could admit of, the general allowance 
of the prisoners did not exceed four ounces of 
meat per day, and that often so damaged as 
not to be eatable. That it had been a com- 
mon practice with the British, to keep their 
prisoners four or five days without a morsel of 
meat, and then tempt them to enlist, to save 
their lives." 

Many were actually starved to death, in 
hope of making them enrol themselves in the 
British army. 

The American sailors, when captured, suf- 
fered even more than the soldiers ; for they 
were confined on board prison-ships in great 
[numbers, and in a manner which showed that 
the British officers were willing to treat fellow 
beings, whose only crime was love of liberty, 
jAvorse than the vilest animals ; and indeed, in 
ievery respect, with as much cruelty, as is en- 
Idured by the miserable inhabitants of the 
iworst class of slave ships. 

The prisoners were so crowded in these 

tehips, and so brutally treated, that, in conse- 

uence of bad food and impure air, diseases 

roke out among them, which destroyed im- 



186 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

mense numbers. In the course of the war, it 
has been asserted on good evidence, that eleven 
thousand persons died on board the Jersey, 
one of the largest of the prison-ships, stationed 
in East-river, near New- York. 

These unfortunate beings died in agony in 
the midst of their fellow sutTerers, who were 
obhged to witness their tortures, without the 
power of relieving their dying countrymen, 
even by cooling their parched lips with a drop 
of cold water, or a breath of fresh air ; and, 
w^hen the last breath had left the emaciated 
body, they sometimes remained for hours in 
close contact with the corpse, without room to 
shrink from companions death had made so 
horrible. And when at last the dead were re- 
moved, the}^ were sent in boats to the shore, 
and so imperfectly buried, that, long after the 
war was ended, their bones lay whitening in 
the sun on the beach of Long-Island, a lasting 
memorial of British cruelt)^, so entirely unwar- 
ranted by all the laws of war, or even com- 
mon humanity. 

They could not even pretend they were re- 
taliating ; for the Americans invariably treated 
their prisoners with kindness, and as though 



OF ERENEZER FOX. 137 

they were fellow men. All the time that 
these cruelties were performed, those, who 
were thus deprived of every comfort and 
necessary, were constantly entreated to leave 
the American service, and induced to be- 
lieve, while kept from all knowledge of pub- 
lick affairs, that the republican cause was 
hopeless ; that all, engaged in it, would meet 
the punishment of traitors to their king ; and 
that all their prospect of saving their lives, 
or escaping from an imprisonment w^orse than 
death to young and high-spirited men, as most 
of them were, would be in joining the British 
army, where they would be sure of good pay 
and quick promotion. 

These were the means employed by our en- 
emies to increase their own forces, and discou- 
rage the patriots, and it is not strange that 
they were successful in many instances. 

High sentiments of honor could not well ex- 
ist in the poor, half-famished prisoners, who 
were denied even water to quench their thirst, 
or the privilege of breathing fresh, pure air ; 
and cramped, day after day, in a space too 
small to admit of exercising their weary limbs; 
12 



138 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

with the fear of wasting their lives in a cap- 
tivity, which could not serve their country nor 
gain honor to themselves. 

But worse than all was the mortifying con- 
sideration, that, after they had suffered for the^ 
love of their country, more than soldiers in ac- 
tive service, they might die in these horrible 
places, and be laid with their countrymen on 
the shores of Long-Island, or some equally 
exposed spot, without the rites of burial, and 
their names never be heard of by those who^. 
in future ages, would look back to the roll of 
patriots, who died in defence of liberty ,^ with 
admiration and respect ; while, on the contra-, 
ry, by dissembling for a time, they might be 
enabled to regain a place in the services© dear 
to them, and in which they were ready to en- 
dure any hardship or encounter any danger. 

Of all the prisons, on land or water, for the 
confinement of the Americans during the- 
Revolutionary war, the •' Old Jersey" was ac- 
knowledged to be the worst : such an accu- 
mulation of horrors was not to be found in any 
other one, or perhaps in all collectively. 

The very name of it struck terror into the^ 
sailor's hearty and caused him to fight morer- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 139 

desperately, to avoid being made a captive. 
Suffering- as we did, day after day, with no 
prospect of relief; our number continually aug- 
menting, and all hope of escape destroyed by 
the increased vigilance of our guards, since 
they ascertained how many had escaped ; can 
it be thought strange that the younger part of 
the prisoners, to whom confinement seemed 
worse than death, should be tempted to enhst 
into the British service ? especially when, by 
60 doingjit was probable that some opportunity 
would be offered to desert ? a course which 
many had adopted with success. We were 
satisfied that death would soon put an end to 
our sufferings, if we remained prisoners much 
longer ; yet, when we discussed the expedien- 
cy of seeking a change in our condition, which 
we were satisfied could not be worse under any 
circumstances, and it was proposed that we 
should enter the service of " King George," 
our minds revolted at the idea, and we aban- 
doned the intention. 

In the midst of our distress, perplexities, and 
troubles at this period, we were not a little puz- 
zled to know how to dispose of the vermin that 
would accumulate upon our persons, notwith- 



140 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

Standing all our attempts at cleanliness. To 
catch them was a very easy task, but to un- 
dertake to deprive each individual captive of 
life, as rapidly as they could have been taken, 
would have been a more herculean task for 
each individual daily, than tlie destruction of 
the three thousand Phihstines by Samson of 
old. To throw them overboard would have 
been but a small relief ; as they would proba- 
bly add to the impurities of the boiler, by being 
deposited in it the first time it was filled up for 
cooking our unsavory mess. AVhat then was 
to be done with them ? A general consulta- 
tion was held, and it was determined to de- 
prive them of their liberty. This being agreed 
upon, the prisoners immediately went to work, 
for their comfort and amusement, to make a 
liberal contribution of those migratory crea- 
tures, who were compelled to colonize for a 
time within the boundaries of a huge snuff-box 
appropriated for the purpose. There they lay, 
snugly ensconced, of all colours, ages, and si- 
zes, to the amount of some thousands, wait- 
ing for orders. 

British recruiting officers frequently came 
on board, and held out to the prisoners tempt- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 141 

ing offers to enlist in his Majesty's service ; 
not to fight against their own country, but to 
perform garrison duty in the island of Jamaica. 
One day an Irish officer came on board for 
this purpose, and, not meeting with much suc- 
cess among the prisoners who happened to be 
upon deck, he descended below to repeat his 
offers. He was a remarkably tall man, and 
was obliged to stoop as he passed along between 
the decks. The prisoners were disposed for a 
frolick, and kept the officer in their company 
for some time, flattering him with expecta- 
tions, till he discovered their insincerity, and 
left them in no very pleasant hmnor. As he 
passed along, bending his body, and bringing 
his broad shoulders to nearly a horizontal po- 
sition, the idea occurred to our minds to furnish 
him with some recruits from the colony in the 
snuff-box. A favorable opportunity presentedj 
the cover of the box was removed, and the 
whole contents discharged upon the red-coated 
back of the officer. Three cheers from the 
prisoners followed the migration, and the offi- 
cer ascended to the deck, unconscious of the 
number and variety of recruits he had obtain- 
ed without the formality of an enlistment. 



142 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

The captain of the ship, suspicious that some 
joke had been practised, or some mischief per- 
petrated, from the noise below, met the officer 
at the head of the gangway, and, seeing the 
vermin crawhng up his shoulders and aiming 
at his head with the instinct pecuUar to them, 
exclaimed, " Hoot, mon, wha' is the matter 
with yer bock ?" The captain was a Scotch- 
man. By this time many of them, in their 
wanderings, had traveled round from the rear 
to the front, and showed themselves, to the 
astonishment of the officer. He flung off his 
coat in a paroxysm of rage, which was not al- 
layed by three cheers from the prisoneis on the 
deck. Confinement below, with a short allow- 
ance, was our punishment for this gratification. 
From some information we had obtained, 
we were in daily expectation of a visit from 
the British recruiting officers ; and, from the 
summary method of their former procedure, no 
one felt safe from the danger of being forced 
into their service. Many of the prisoners 
thought it would be better to enlist voluntarily, 
as it was probable that afterwards they would 
be permitted to remain on Long-Island, pre- 
paratory to their departure for the West-Indies, 



OF EBENEZER FOX. i4o 

and during that time some opportunity would 
be offered for their escape to the Jersey shore. 

To remain an indefinite time as prisoners, 
enduring sufferings and privations beyond 
what human nature could sustain, or to make 
a virtue of necessity, and with apparent wil- 
lingness to enlist into a service, into which we 
were satisfied that we should soon be impress- 
ed, seemed to be the only alternatives. 

There was a hope too, that, by voluntarily 
enlisting, we should obtain a degree of confi- 
dence, which would result in affording us an 
opportunity of deserting, and thereby regain- 
ing our hberty. 

While prisoners on board of the Jersey, we 
could obtain no accurate knowledge of the suc- 
cess of the American cause. The information 
we had, came from our enemies, whose inter- 
est it w^as to deceive us. They magnified our 
disasters, and kept us in ignorance of our suc- 
cess,, and constantly represented the cause as 
hopeless. Cold weather was approaching, and 
we had no comfortable clothing to protect us 
from the rigors of an inclement season. 

Situated as we were, there appeared to us 
to be no moral turpitude in enlisting in the 



144 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

British service, especially when we considered 
that it was ahnost certain we should soon be 
impressed into the same. Our moral discern- 
ment was not clear enough to perceive, that it 
was not safe " to do evil that good may come." 
We thought the end justified the means, and, 
in despair of any improvement being in pros- 
pect for our liberation, we concluded that we 
w^ould enlist for soldiers, for the West-India 
service, and trust to Providence for finding an 
opportunity to leave the British for the Ameri- 
ican service. 

Soon after we had farmed this desperate res- 
olution, a recruiting oflficer came on board to 
enhst men for the eighty-eighth regiment, to 
be stationed at Kingston, in the island of Ja- 
maica. We had just been trying to satisfy 
our hunger upon a piece of beef, wiiich was so 
tough that no teeth could make an impression 
on it, when the oflicer descended between 
decks, and represented to us the immense im- 
provement that we should experience in our 
condition, if we were in his Majesty's service : 
an abundance of good food, comfortable cloth- 
ing, service easy, and in the finest climate in 
the world, were temptations too great to be re- 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 145 

sisled by a set of miserable, half-starved, and 
almost naked wretchet? as we were, and who 
had already concluded to accept of the propo- 
sition even had it been made under circum- 
stances less enticing. 

The recruiting officer presen^d his papers 
for our signature. We hesitated, we stared at 
each other, and felt that we were about to do 
a deed of which we were ashauitd, and which 
we might regret. Again we heard the tempt- 
ing offers, and again the assurance that we 
should not be called upon to fight against our 
government or country ; and, with the hope 
that we should find an opportunity to desert, 
of which it was our firm intention to ava.l 
ourselves when offered— with such hopes, ex- 
pectations, and motives, we signed the papers, 
and became soldiers in his Majesty's service. 

How often did we afterwards lament that 
we had ever lived to see this fiour ! how often 
did we regret that we were not in our wretch- 
ed prison-ship again, or buried in the sand at 
the Wallabout ! 
13 



HO REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER X. 

We shortly after, twelve in nuQiber, left the 
Jersey, and were landed upon Long-Island 
and marched under a guard about a mile to an 
old barn, \^ here we were quartered. We had 
formed our plan to desert that night ; but 
great was our disappointment and surprise to 
find, that the barn was surrounded by a strong 
guard, as though our design was suspected and 
means were taken to prevent it. Though our 
lodgings seemed a palace compared with our 
prison-ship, yet sleep was a stranger to us dur- 
ing that night. Under various pretexts, we 
frequently went out to reconnoitre ; but were 
satisfied that there was no chance for escape 
then, and must trust to Providence for some 
more favorable opportunity. The next morn- 
ing, after we had partaken of, what appeared 
to us, a luxurious repast, we were paraded for 
drill, and then marched down to the shore un- 
der a guard of twenty soldiers, whom the offi- 
cer called, in compliment to us, an escort ; an 
honor with which we could very well have dis- 
pensed. In our march, we passed the Jersey ; 



OF EBENEZKR FOX. 147 

and this gloomy hulk, with all the horrible as- 
sociations connected with it, seenaed a desira- 
ble resting-place, compared with the melan- 
choly prospect before us.* 

Disappointed in all our hopes and expecta- 
tions of escape, we were hurried jon board of a 
vessel ready to sail for Jamaica, only waiting 
for a favorable wind. We entertained a faint 
hope, that, during our voyage, we might be 
taken by some American privateer, and conse- 
quently obtain our freedom. 

In the course of six or eight days, w^e weigh- 

* The reader may have some curiosity to know 
what hecame of the " Old Jersey." Tlie prisoners, 
who weve on board of her at the conclusion of the 
war in 1783, were liberated. The prison-ship was 
then abandoned, and the dread of contagion prevent- 
ed any one visitincrher. Worms soon destroyed her 
bottom, and she afterwards sunk. It is said that her 
planks were covered with the names of tlie captives, 
who had been immured there ; a long and melan- 
choly catalogue, as it is supposed that a greater num- 
ber of men perished on board of her, than history in- 
forms us of in any other place of confinement in the 
same period time. 

In the year 1803, the bank at the Wallabout was 
removed, as preparatory to building a Navy Yard, 
A vast quantity of bones were found, which were 
carefully collected and buried under the direction of 
the Tammany Society of New- York. 



148 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

ed anchor, and hoisted our sail for Jamaica. I 
placed myself upon the quarter-deck, to pro- 
long my view of my beloved native landjwhich 
I was leaving T feared for ever. The winds 
were propitious, and our progress was rapid. 

We had in company a small schooner, a 
Virginia-built vessel, and a rapid sailer. Our 
captain occasionally put on board of her t\A elve 
or fifteen men, whom he generally selected 
from among those who had enlisted as soldiers, 
as they had for the most part experienced a 
sea service. We captured a small French ves- 
sel during the voyage, after we had come io 
sight of land and were running down to 
leeward of it under French colours. 

We suddenly formed a plan to take posses- 
sion of the schooner, of \\ hich we composed 
the greater part of the crew, and run into seme 
Spanish or Portuguese island. Our ship was 
a good way ahead of us ; and as slie was a 
very dull sailer, we thought there would be no 
difficulty in escaping from her. It wa? neces- 
sary for us to be prompt and decided in our 
operations. The crew was composed of vari- 
ous nations, and great caution must be used 
in our considtations. We finally agreed upon 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 149 

our plan, and were about putting it in execu- 
tion, when the courage of one of our party foil- 
ed. He was a Scotchman ; and, from the 
manner in which he expressed his fears and 
doubts, we had great reason to apprehend that 
he had or would betray us. During this time, 
we were running to the leeward, and, in case 
we succeeded, we should be obhged to beat up 
to the windward again, to recover the distance 
we had lost, and be exposed to the danger of 
meeting with English cruisers under the land. 
The attempt seemed too desperate to risk, and 
we reluctantly abandoned it, although it w^as 
our last and forlorn hope. 

The next day we anchored in the harbor of 
Port-Royal, where we lay one day, and sailed 
for Kingston. " Kingston is on the south coast 
of the island of Jamaica, and on the north side 
of a beautiful harbor, in which vessels of the 
largest burden may anchor in safety. It is 
built on a plain which commences on the shore, 
and rises with a gradual ascent to the foot of 
the Liguanea mountains, a distance of about 
six miles. Port-Royal stands at the extremity 
of the long and narrow peninsula which bounds 
Kingston harbor on the south, about ten miles 



150 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

south-west of Kingston. It has an excellent 
harbor, in which a thousand ships could an- 
chor with convenience. It contains the royal 
nav3^-yard, the navy hospital, and barracks for 
a regiment of soldiers. The fortifications are 
remarkably strong, and are kept in excellent 
order." Our vessel was hauled up to a wharf ; 
we remained on board till a British sergeant 
can)e and took our names. 

The captain of our ship then informed us, 
that he was not ignorant of the design we had 
formed of taking possession of the ship during 
the voyage ; and although it was in his power 
to have us tried for onr lives by a court-martial 
for an intended mutiny, yet he was actuated 
by feelings of compassion, arid was more desi- 
rous of doing us good than evil, and was wil- 
ling to forgive us. He then gave us some 
salutary advice respecting our future conduct, 
and bid us farewell. This magnanimous con- 
duct on his part produced in us a heart-felt ex- 
pression of gratitude. 

We then landed, and with the sergeant at 
the head marched in single file through King- 
ston to a place called " Harmony-hall," where 
the regiment was quartered, and weie placed 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 151 

under the care of a drill sergeant. The next 
morning we were ordered out for drill, and re- 
ceived our uniform and arms, which we were 
ordered to keep bright and in good order for 
service. We had but little employment, ex- 
cepting being drilled to our hear-ts' content by 
the sergeant, to make good soldiers of us for 
the service of bis Majesty, King George the 
Third. The life of a soldier in a garrison is 
an idle one at the best ; and, though the du- 
ties are not laborious, there is a monotony in 
them which is extremely irksome to the active 
mind of youth. But we could not reasonably 
expect to spend our lives in a garrison, if such 
a thing were desirable : after having had our 
share of it, we were aware that we should be 
called upon to perform some foreign service, 
we knew not where, perhaps to bear arms a- 
gainst our beloved country. With the fear of 
this in view, and the reluctance we experienced 
in serving what we still considered the cause 
of our enemy, our minds were constantly em- 
ployed in devising ways and means to effect 
our escape. ' 

It appeared to be the object of our officers 
to reconcile us to the service, by making our 



152 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

duties easy and agreeable. We were often in- 
dulged with the privilege of leaving our quar- 
ters to visit the town or wander about the 
country adjacent. Harmony-Hallj our quar- 
ters, was enclosed by a high fence, having 
two gates in fronf and one in the rear, at each 
of which a sentry was stationed. W hen a sol- 
dier wished to leave the Hall, it was necessary 
for him to obtain a w^ritten order called a 
" pass," to show to the sentry when he went 
out, and to give up when he returned. Sev- 
eral of us thought it a practicable thing to get 
on board some of the British merchant vessels 
in the harbor, which were in need of men, and 
whose captains would not hesitate to receive 
and secrete us, as they were frequently depri- 
ved of their hands by impressment on board of 
the ships of war. We availed ourselves of ev- 
ery opportunity we could obtain to get infor- 
mation respecting English vessels, their time 
of saihng, their destined ports, (fcc. ; thinking 
that, if we could once get to England, we 
should find some means to get thence toFrance, 
whence we could return to our own country. 

In our rambles about the town and country, 
we visited the grog-shops and taverns, places 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 153 

wliere sailors generally resort, and had got con- 
siderably acquainted with the keepers of these 
establishments. Our "passes" were signed by 
a commissioned officer, and they gave us per- 
mission to carry our side-arms, that is, a bayo- 
net, and to be absent two hours a^ a time. 

While I and one of my comrades were wan- 
dering about the town one day, we stepped 
into a house, where liquors and refreshments 
were to be obtained. We found one of the 
seats occupied by an English sailor, to whom 
we, rather too frankly for prudence, communi- 
cated our intentions ; or, more correctly speak- 
ing, gave him some cause for suspecting our 
designs from the questions w^e asked him re- 
specting the probability of obtaining enjploy- 
ment on board of some merchant vessel, in case 
we could get released from our present engage- 
ments. The sailor was inclined to be very 
sociable, and discovered no objections to drink- 
ing freely at our expense ; telling us that he 
belonged to an English ship that would sail in 
a few days ; that his captain was in want of 
hands ; and that, at his intercession, he w^ould 
undoubtedly take us on board. 

He appeared so friendly, and his manners 



154 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

were so insinuating, that he completely won 
our confidence. He asked us, how we could 
obtain liberty to leave the garrison, and to pass 
in and out when we pleased ? Taking my 
" pass" out of my pocket, I showed it to him, 
and told him that was our authority. He took 
it into his hand apparently with an intention 
of reading it ; and, after looking at it for some 
time, in a sort of careless manner, he put it 
into his pocket. I felt a little surprised when 
1 saw him do it, and my companion expressed 
his fears by whispering into my ear, " Blast 
his eyes, he means to keep the pass." 

Having allowed the fellow to get possession 
of the paper, I felt myself responsible for it, 
and that it was necessary for me to recover it, 
even if I were obliged to resort to violent mea- 
sures. 1 therefore said to him, " My friend, I 
must have that paper, as we cannot return to 
our quarters without it." He replied, '' You 
had better be peaceable about it, for I mean to 
see your commanding officer." 

Matters had nov/ come to a crisis. I saw 
that it was the sailor's object to inform against 
us, and to carry the " pass" as an evidence of 
our conference with him. I immediately drew 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 155 

my bayonet from its scabbard, and, thrusting 
it against his side with force sufficient to inflict 
a slight wound, put my hand into his pocket 
and took out the " pass" ; and then, giving 
him a blow upon the head with the butt end 
of my bayonet, dropped him senseless on the 
floor. The noise of this conflict brought the 
landlord into the room, followed by his wife, 
with whom a previous acquaintance had made 
me somewhat of a favorite. The rascal had 
by this time recovered his senses and had got 
upon his legs, and began to represent tlie mat- 
ter in a light the most favorable to himself. 

We vehemently contradicted his assertions, 
and were stoutly backed up by the landlady, 
who was a considerable of a termagant, and 
declared that " the sailor was a quarrelsome 
fellow ; that he had made a difficulty once be- 
fore in the house ; and that her husband would 
be a fool if he did not kick him out of doors." 

The landlord, to prove that he was "compos 
mentis," and to appease the wrath of his wife, 
which -waxed warm, complied with her kind 
wishes, and the sailor was, without much cer- 
emony, hurried through the door, his progress 
not a little accelerated by a brisk application 



156 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

of the landlord's foot in the nrianner prescribed 
by the good woman. We were then advised 
by our friends to return to our quarters as quick 
as possible, lest the fellow might make some 
trouble for us. We paid our bill, and gave 
the landlord many thanks, not forgetting the 
landlady, to whose kind interference we owed 
our fortunate escape. This circumstance 
made me more cautious in future of communi- 
cating my designs to strangers how friendly 
soever they might appear. 

About this time, I was unexpectedly releas- 
ed from the duties of a soldier. One day I at- 
tracted the attention of an officer, by the exer- 
cise of my skill as a barber in the act of shav- 
ing a comrade ; and was forthwith promoted to 
the high station of hairdresser and shaver for 
the officers. This was very agreeable to me, 
as it gave me an opportunity of obtaining much 
information respecting the town and country 
around, and hkewise much leisure time, and 
many indulgences not granted to the soldiers. 

I was assiduous in my attentions to my su- 
periors, and thereby gained their confidence, 
and could, almost whenever I wished, procure 
a pass to go out when I desired. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 157 

But, although my duties were light and I 
experienced much kind treatment, I still felt 
myself in a state of servitude, — a prisoner, as 
it were, among the enemies of my country, — 
in a thraldom, from which I was desirous of 
being released. I was willing to incur any 
hazard to obtahi my liberty, and to breathe 
once more the air of freedom. To visit my 
dear native land, my friends, and the scenes 
of my childhood, was the prevailing wish of 
my mind ;• to accomplish this desire I was wil- 
ling to hazard my life. 

Many diificulties were to be surmounted be- 
fore tins could be effected. Friends were to 
be found, in whom confidence could be placed. 

Tt was difficult to tell w^Jom to trust. To 
impart my views to others might expose me. to 
treachery ; and, if betrayed, the consequences 
would be fatal. It was necessary to proceed 
with great cuulion in obtaiiiing the opinions 
of those who were likely to embark in the un- 
dertaking I had in contemplation. Several 
must be found, possessing similar views and 
intentions, alike in courasre and deternjination 
to carry through what.e\er plan might be form- 
ed. To desert from a military force, in an 



158 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

enemy's country, and that an island, seemed 
to be a desperate undertaking with httle pros- 
pect of success. But 1 was resolved upon the 
attempt, and my thoughts were continually 
employed in devising ways and means to effect 
it. 1 gained upon the confidence of the offi- 
cers daily, and was indulged with opportuni- 
ties of leaving the garrison whenever 1 cliose. 

Availing myfelf of this privilege, I became 
acquainted witli all the avenues from th.e town 
as far as Rock-fort, which was situated at the 
distance of two miles from Kingston, on the 
right-hand side of the road. I ascertained that 
it w^as the custom to place a number of sentries 
on the left-hand side of the road, about the 
eighth of a mile from the fort, in the road to 
Rock-fort, at a place called the " Plum-tree." 

Deserters, who were ignorant of this circum- 
stance, were often taken up by the sentries, 
and brought back to the garrison. The night 
before we escaped, five soldiers were caught in 
the act of deserting, and brought back in the 
morning while the regiment were on parade. 
The poor fellows looked the very objects of des- 
pair w hen they were delivered up,and put under 
guard to await their trial by a court-martial. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 



159 



I had become acquainted with five soldiers, 
who had been released from military duty, be- 
cause they were mechanicks, and could make 
themselves useful in the performance of vari- 
ous mechanical services. 

They enjoyed considerable liberty, but did 
not possess the confidence of the officers in so 
great a degree as I did, having made myself 
useful and agreeable to them by personal at- 
tention in contributing to their comfort and 
convenience. My knowledge of the town and 
its environs rendered me a valuable coadjutor, 
and gave me more consequence in the estima- 
tion of my comrades^ than I should otherwise 
have had, and made me a sort of leader in the 
enterprise, though I was then but about nine- 
teen years of age. 

We had frequent opportunities of being to- 
gether to digest our plan, and to make ar- 
rangements for putting it into execution. A- 
bout this time, I had the good fortune to ob- 
tain a high degree of confidence, and to find 
great favor in the sight of the commanding- 
oflScer by the exercise of my professional skill 
in making him wonderfully satisfied with him- 
self upon the occasion of a military ball. He 



160 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

was SO much pleased with the improvement I 
made in his personal appearance, that, in tfie 
fulness of his heart, he gave me a " pass to go 
out whenever I chose till further orders." 

This was a great privilege, and 1 derived 
great advantages from the use of it. 

The five comrades,* with whom 1 had as- 
sociated, as I have observed, were mechanicks, 
two of whom were armorers ; and they had 
obtained from the arsenal two pistols and three 
swords, which were all the weapons we had : 
tliese, together with some articles of clotiiing, 
we had depositel in the hut of an old negro, 
whom we had bribed to secrecy. The regi- 
ment, stationed at Rock-fort, was designated 
as " Ljord Montague's men," or the American 
Rangers, and had been recruited in North and 
South Carolina. Their uniform was a short 
blue jacket with white fucings. Having made 
all the prepn rations in our power, we appoint- 
ed the time to commence the attempt. 

Our plan was, to travel across the island, 

* Their names were as follows : John Jones, Abra- 
ham Bassett, James Daly, Joseph Ha>nes. The 
name of the man, whom we lost the first night of our 
escape, I have forgotten. 



OF ERENEZER FOX. 161 

and trust to circumstances, which might prov- 
identially be thrown in our way, to escape to 
the island of Cuba. Our fears were not a lit- 
tle excited, when we saw the poor fellows 
brought back on the morning preceding the 
night we had fixed for our undertaking ; es- 
pecially wiien we heard the commanding- 
officer declare, - that, whatever might be their 
fote, the next, who should undertake to de- 
sert, should be hung." 

I had a general pass, as 1 have before ob- 
served, for myself to go out at pleasure ; but 
it was necessary to obtain a special one for my 
companions, and this duty devolved on me. 

In the afternoon, soon after dinner, I asked 
theconimanding-officer to grant me the fovcr 
of a pass for five of my acquaintance to go out 
to spend the evening, upon condition of return- 
ing before nine o'clock. The officer hesitated 
for a moment ; and then, as he signed the 
pass, said, " I believe I can trust you ; but re- 
member that you must not come back without 
them." This 1 readily promised, and I faith- 
fully fulfilled the obligation. 
14 



162 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER XI. 

About the middle of the week, in the month 
of July, 1782, our hitle party of six, five Amer- 
icans, and one Irishman, an active, courageous 
fellow, left the town, and proceeded to the 
negro's hut, where we received our weapons 
and clothing and some little store of provisions 
which we had deposited. That afternoon, a 
soldier had heen buried at Rock-fort, and part 
of tfie regiment hud been out to attend the fu- 
neral. Seeing these soldiers unontheir return at 
a distance, and fearing that our bundles might 
excite their suspicion, we concluded to separate 
and meet again as soon as the soldiers had 
passed. We escaped their notice, and fortu- 
nately met together a little time after, all but 
one who was missing. We waited some time, 
and looked in various directions for iiim, with- 
out success. We were afraid to remain v\ here 
we were any longer, as it was now past eight 
o'clock ; and we knew, if we did Jiot return 
by nine, a party would be sent in search of us. 

The man, whom we njissed, was somewhat 
intoxicated, and the piobabihty was that he 



OF EBENEZER FOX". 



163 



. had lain down and fallen asleep ; or perhaps 
his courage had failed, and he had' given up 
the undertaking, and might have gone back 
and given information against us. We were 
satisfied that we could wait no longer for him 
without exposing ourselves to great danger, 
and therefore concluded to proceed without 
him. What was his fate I have never been 
able to ascertain. 

We pushed rapidly forward till we had got 
about a mile from Kingston, when we entered 
a small piece of wood-land, and divested our- 
selves of our uniform, which we had worn 
with much reluctance, and had never ceased 
to regret having exposed ourselves to the ne- 
cessity of putting on ; clothed ourselves in the 
sailor garments, which we had taken care to 
provide : cut the white binding from our hats ; 
and were soon metamorphosed into much bet- 
ter sailors, than we had ever been soldiers. 

Having loaded our pistols, we again proceed- 
ed. We had advanced but a few rods, when 
we met a sergeant, belonging to a regiment 
called the Liverpool Blues, who had been to 
Rock-fort to see some of his acquaintance, and 
was then upon his return. It was near the 



164 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

lime for stationing the guard, as usual, at the 
phice called the " Plum-tree." The sergeant 
hailed us with, " Where are 3^ou bound, niy 
lads ?" We answered, " To Rock-fort." 

He replied, " 1 have just come from there, 
and found all well : how goes on the recruit- 
ing at New- York ? and what is the news .^" 

A ship had arrived the day previous, from 
New-York, and he supposed that we were 
some of the recruits that she had brought over. 

We perceived his mistake, and adapted our 
answers to his questions, so as to encourage 
his delusion. We told him that the recruiting 
went on bravely, and we were going to join 
our regiment at Rock-fort. 

The fellow seemed to be in a very happy 
mood,and immediately declared his intention of 
turning back to show us the way to the fort. 

Our situation was rendered very embarras- 
sing by this kind offer ; and to refuse it, we 
feared, would excite suspicion. Our generous 
guide thought he was doing us service, when 
he was leading us directly to destruction ; and 
the idea of killing him, while he imagined 
tliat he was performing a good service for us, 
was very unpleasant ; but it was our only al- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 165 

ternative. In a few moments the deed would 
have been done ; self-preservation made it. 
necessary : but, fortunately for the poor fellow, 
and much to our satisfaction, he suddenly rec- 
ollected that his pass required him to be back 
to Kingston by nine o'clock, and-, bidding us 
good-nightj and telling us that w^e could not 
miss the way, he left us, and pursued his route 
to Kingston at a rapid pace. 

We thought it important that we should get 
as far from Kingston that night as possible, as 
w^e should undoubtedly be pursued in the 
morning ; and the sergeant, from whom we 
had just parted, would give information of us, 
as soon as be arrived and asceitained that we 
were deserters. The danger, to which we had 
been exposed by our recent interview, cast a 
gloom over our spirits, and gave us a realizing 
sense of the difficulties and hazards with which 
we must contend. But go forward we must, 
for to go back would be death. 

We proceeded at a rapid pace for about 
half of a mile farther, wlien we met with an 
old negro, who hailed us, saying, * '-Where be 

* " Buckra man" was the common liame among 
the Negroes for a Avhite man. 



166 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

you going, massa buckra men ? there be a 
a plenty of soldiers a little way a-head ; they 
will take you up, and put you on board of 
man-of-war." We told hitn that we had got 
a pass. The negro replied, " Dey no care for 
dat, dey put you on board a man-of-war." He 
mistook us for sailors, who were deserting from 
some ship. 

I had become acquainted with several ne- 
groes in Kingston, and always found them 
kind and wiUing to give any information that 
was in their power to furnish. They appeared 
to feel a sort of sympathy for the soldiers and 
sailors ; seeing some resemblance between 
their own degraded condition and that of the 
miserable military and naval slaves of British 
despotism. Whatever might be the cause, I 
always found the negroes in and about King- 
ston ready to give every facihty to a soldier or 
sailor who wished to desert. We soon agreed 
with the old fellow for a dollar to guide us into 
a path through the woods, by following which 
we should avoid the guard at the "Plum-tree," 
in whose vicinity we then were. I had recon- 
noitred the ground sufficiently, previous to this, 
to be aware of the necessity of taking this paths 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 167 

and knew about where it was ; but we were 
sensible that a faithful guide, who had a per- 
fect knowledge of the ground, would be of 
great service to us, especially in the night. 

After we had entered the woods, we had no 
fear of treachery on the part of our guide, as 
his life was in our hands. The fiite that await- 
ed him, should he attempt to jeopardize our 
safety, was clearly understood by him : but, 
from the earnest and simple manner in which 
he declared the sincerity of his intentions in 
serving us, put at rest in our minds all doubts 
of his fidelity. We followed our guide about 
a mile, when he told us that we had got past 
the guard, and, giving us directions as to our 
future course, he left us, after having called 
God to witness that he never would inform a- 
gainst us. We had no reason to doubt that 
he faithfully kept his pronnse. 

Our anxiety to escape pursuit determined us 
to use all the expedition we could through the 
night. About midnight, we came to one of the 
many rivulets, with which Jamaica abounds. 
As we were unable to determine what its width, 
or depth was in the darkness, it was necessary 
to proceed with caution. The tallest of our par- 



168 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

ty was sent forward to try to wade across. The 
rest followed in s'mgle file, according to our res- 
pective heights ; I, heing the shortest, brought 
up the rear. Holding our arms and provisions 
and part of our clothing above our heads, we 
soon arrived on the opposite shore. When I 
was in the middle of the river, I found the water 
up to my chin, and was fearful at one time that 
I should be obliged to abandon my bundle, and 
resort to swimming. We tra\ eled in our wet 
clothes the remainder of the night, and, towards 
day-light, we looked round for some retired 
spat, where we could secrete ourselves during 
the day, as we considered that it would expose 
us to great ha'/:ard, if not to certain detection, 
to travel by day-light at so little distance from 
Kingston as we then were. We soon found a 
secluded spot on the side of a hill thickly set 
with brushwood, well calculated for concealing 
usfromlhe viewof any whomightpass that way. 
In the course of the forenoon we saw, from 
our place of concealment, a number of negroes 
pass by, carrying to the market at Kingston 
various articles of country produce upon their 
heads in baskets. We had provided for our sus- 
tenance a small quantity of bread and dried her- 



X)F EBENEZER FOX. 169 

ring, sufficient to last three days, the time we 
thought requisite to travel across the island : 
of this provision we eat sparingly, but suffered 
iuuch for want of water, as we were afraid of 
beingseen if we ventured from our hiding-place 
till night, when we cautiously, one at a time, 
crept down to the foot of the hill, and quench- 
ed our thirst from a small rivulet. 

As soon as it was dark enough to prevent 
discovery, we left our place of concealment, 
and proceeded on our second night's journey. 

We had been exposed to considerable dan- 
ger the preceding night and day, and had suf- 
fered much from hunger, and more from thirst : 
our spirits were depressed, and we experienced 
the wearisomeness that arises from a want of 
sleep. Gloomy forebodings assailed us ; and 
we moved on in melancholy silence. After 
having traveled three or four hours, we unex- 
pectedly found ourselves near a hut, and were 
alarmed at hearing a negro female voice ex- 
claim, " Here come a whole parcel of Buckra 
man." We immediately started from the spot, 
and proceeded with all practicable speed till 
we had traveled three or four miles, when we 
15 



170 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

sat down to rest, and to refresh ourselves with 
some of our bread and dried herring. 

After we had rested about half an hour, we 
renewed our journey with all the speed we 
could exercise ; and proceeded without inter- 
ruption till day-light approached, when we 
thought it necessary to find a place for conceal- 
ment during the day. We entered the woods 
at a short distance from the road, where we 
spent the day, partially satisfying our liunger 
with a scanty portion of bread and herring, 
and some berries, which we found, of various 
kinds ; and amusing ourselves with the rela- 
tion of the dangers we had passed through, and 
speculations upon the nature of those which 
we might be called upon to encounter. The 
day passed without any alarm, and, as night 
approached, we prepared to re-commence our 
journey. Soon after dark, we issued from the 
woods, entered upon the road, and proceeded 
for several hours without meeting with any 
thing to molest or make us afraid. We occa- 
sionally rested, eat sparingly of our nearly-ex- 
hausted stores, and drank w^ater when we 
could find it, and traveled without interruption 
till morning. A place for concealment during^ 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 171 

the day was again selected ; and, as we had 
slept but little since we left Kingston, we con- 
cluded to get all the rest we could, and spent 
the greater part of the day in sleep, each one of 
us in succession keeping watch while the others 
slept. After several hours' rest, we found our- 
selves considerably refreshed ; and as our 
small stock of provisions was nearly exhaust- 
ed, and we had consumed nearly the time we 
had anticipated would be required to arrive on 
the opposite side of the island ; we concluded 
that we would venture to travel by day-light. 

AVe took the precaution to divide our party, 
three taking one side of the road, a little in ad- 
vance, and two on the other side ; keeping a 
vigilant look-out, in every direction. One of 
our men in advance gave notice, some time in 
the forenoon, that he discovered an object at a 
distance apparently approaching. We thought 
it prudent to retire from the road to a neigh- 
boring thicket, till we could ascertain what the 
object was. It proved to be a gentleman on 
horseback, who, by his dress, appeared to be 
an officer of high rank, followed by a servant. 

The officer wore a large, gold-laced, three- 
cornered hat, and was richly dressed : both he 



172 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

and his servant were well armed. As soon as 
they had passed and were out of sight, we left 
our retreat with the intention of proceeding ; 
but, finding ourselves in need of more rest, we 
penetrated farther into the woods to find a 
place of repose. 

Our strength began to fail for want of food, 
and we found it necessary to take more fre- 
quent opportunities for rest and sleep. 

We gathered a few berries, and, having en- 
joyed a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, we 
felt refreshed, and returned to the road to pur- 
sue our journey. We traveled without inter- 
ruption till about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
and, while ascending a hill, we were alarmed 
by hearing the sound of voices. We stopped, 
and collected together to consult upon what 
course to adopt. In a few moments, we saw 
coming over the hill three stout negroes, armed 
with muskets, which they immediately pre- 
sented to us, and ordered us to stop. 

Our arms, as I have formerly observed, con- 
sisted of two pistols and three swords : upon 
the pistols we could place but little dependence, 
as they were not in good order ; and the 
swords were concealed under our clothes : 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 173 

to attempt to draw them out would have caus- 
ed the negroes instantly to fire upon us. 

They were about ten rods before us, 
and stood in the attitude of taking a deliberate 
aim at us. To run would be certain death to 
some of us ; we therefore saw -no alternative 
but to advance. One of our number, a man 
named Jones, a tall, powerful fellow, took a 
paper from his pocket, and, holding it up be- 
fore him, advanced with great apparent confi- 
dence in his manner, and the rest of us imita- 
ted his example. As we approached, Jones 
held out the paper to one of them, teUing him 
that it was our pass, giving us authorit}' to 
travel across the island. The negroes, as we 
very well knew, were unable to read ; it was 
therefore immaterial what was written upon 
the paper, — I believe it was an old letter, — as 
manuscript or print was entirely beyond their 
comprehension. While we were advancing, 
we had time to confer with each other ; and the 
circumstances of the moment, the critical situ- 
ation, in which we were placed, naturally led 
our minds to one conclusion, to obtain the 
consent of the negroes that we might pursue 
our journey ; but if they opposed our progress. 



174 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

to resort to violence, if we perished in the 
attempt. 

There was something very exciting to our 
feelings in marching up to the muzzles of these 
fellows' guns ; to have our progress interrupt- 
ed when we were, as we supposed, so near the 
end of our journey. Our sufferings had made 
us somewhat savage in our feelings ; and we 
marched up to them with that determination of 
purpose which desperate men have resolved 
upon, when life, liberty, and every thing they 
value is at stake : — all depended upon prompt 
and decisive action. 

This was a fearful moment. The negroes 
stood in a row, their muskets still presented, 
but their attention was principally directed to 
the paper which Jones held before them ; 
while our eyes were constantly fixed upon 
them, anxiously watching their motions, and 
designing to disarm them as soon as a favor- 
able opportunity should be offered. 

The negroes were large and powerful men, 
while we, though we outnumbered them, were 
worn down by our long march, and enfeebled 
by hunger. In physical power we were great- 
ly their inferiors. But the desperate circum- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 175 

stances in which we were placed inspired us 
with uncommon courage, and gave us an un- 
natural degree of strength. 

We advanced steadily forward, shoulder to 
shoulder, till the breasts of three of us were 
within a few inches of the muzzles of their 
guns. Jones reached forward and handed the 
paper to one of the negroes. He took it, and, 
having turned it round several times and ex- 
amined both sides, and finding himself not 
much the wiser for it, shook his head and said, 
^' We must stop you." The expression of his 
countenance, the doubts which were manifest- 
ed in his manner of receiving the paper, con- 
vinced us, that all hope of deceiving or con- 
ciliating them was at an end. 

Their muskets were still presented, their 
fingers upon the triggers. An awful pause of 
a moment ensued, when we made a sudden 
and desperate spring forward, and seized their 
muskets : our attack was so unexpected, that 
we wrenched them from their hands before 
they were aware of our intention. The negro, 
whom 1 attacked, fired just as I seized his gun, 
but I had fortunately turned the direction of 
it, and the ball inflicted a slight wound upon 



176 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

my side, the scar of which remains to this 
day. This was the only gun that was dis- 
charged during this dreadful encounter. 

As soon as it was in my possession, I exer- 
cised all my strength, more than 1 thought I 
possessed, and gave him a tremendous blow 
over the head with the breech, which brought 
him to the ground, from which he never 
rose. 

I had no sooner accomplished my work, 
when I found my companions had been equal- 
ly active, and had despatched the other two 
negroes in the same space of time. None of 
our party received any injury but myself, and 
my wound I considered as trifling. 

The report of the gun we were fearful 
would alarm, some of our enemies' comrades, 
who might be in the vicinity, and bring them 
to the spot. We accordingly dragged the 
bodies to a considerable distance into the 
woods, where we buried them under a quan- 
tity of leaves and brush. In their pockets we 
found a few biscuit, w^hich were very accepta- 
ble to us in our famished condition. 

The best gun was selected, as we did not 
think it necessary to burden ourselves with the 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 177 

Others, as they had been injured in the con- 
flict. We took what ammunition we thought 
necessary, and then sought a place of rest for 
the remainder of the day. 

The negroes, whom we had encountered, 
belonged to a class called "Cudjofe men," who 
were free, in consequence of some services, 
which their ancestors, the Maroons, agreed to 
render to the government ;* and were per- 
mitted to inhabit the mountains and the north- 
ern part of the island. They were encoura- 
ged to exercise their vigilance by the promise 
of receiving a certain sum of money for every 
fugitive slave they restored to his master, or 
soldier whom they should arrest as a deser- 
ter. We had been apprized of the existence 
of these beings before we left Kingston, and 
were in constant fear of meeting with some of 
them. Their huts were scattered along the 
three roads from Kingston, viz. : Rock-fort 
road, the County road, and the Spanish-town 
road. We avoided as much as possible all 
of these roads, and traveled circuitous paths 

* See the Appendix, at the end of the book, for 
an account of the " Cudjoe-men." 



178 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

in the woods ; and, having no guide and an 
imperfect compass, we wandered a great deal 
out of the direct way ; and much of the time 
traveled considerable distances without making 
any advancement. 

The direct distance across the island is about 
forty or fifty miles, which we could have trav- 
eled with ease in two days ;* but, from the 

* " The island of Jamaica lies about thirty 
leagues south of Cuba. A range of lofty mountains, 
called the Blue Mountains, runs through the whole 
island from east to west, in some places seven thou- 
sand feet above the level of the sea. On the nCrth 
side of the island the land rises from the shore in 
high swells, which are remarkable for their beauty, 
being all of gentle acclivity, and commonly separa- 
ted from each other by spacious vales and romantic 
rivulets. Towards the interior, the land becomes 
more elevated, and is clothed with almost boundless 
forests ; and, in the centre of the island, it rises into 
lofty mountains, whose heads are lost in the clouds. 
The southern front of the main ridge of the 
Blue Mountains is generally rough and craggy ; 
but on the south side are several lower ridges, run- 
ning parallel with the principal one, the summits of 
which are more round and smooth j and, at the fool 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 179 

cautious manner we proceeded and the iri'egu- 
lar course we pursued, we were nearly five 
days in accomplishing our undertaking. Con- 

of the lowest ridge lie vast plains or savannahs, 
bounded only by the ocean, and displaying all the 
pride of the richest cultivation." 

The heights, called the Liguanea mountains, are 
within six miles of Kingston, and I understand that 
the British regiments, at present or lately stationed 
on the island of Jamaica, have formed an encamp- 
ment on them, where they are quartered when not 
on other duty. Favored with a salubrious atmos- 
phere, these mountains are not only healthy, but ca- 
pable no doubt of being strongly fortified ; yet an in- 
telligent captain of a vessel, who has recently been 
on the island, informs me that great numbers of 
the soldiers are injudiciously granted leave daily of 
visiting the populous city of Kingston, on condition 
of returning before night. The sudden change of 
temperature, from the close and heated atmosphere 
and parching sunbeams on the plains to the bracing 
and chilling evening air of the mountains, the one 
causing immoderate perspiration and a feverish state 
of the blood, and the other hastily and violently clo- 
J sing the pores of the bodies of the soldiery on their 
return to quarters, many of them half-intoxicated, 
lays the foundation or is the immediate cause of more 



180 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

sidering our ignorance of the interior parts oi 
the island, it has ever since been a matter of 
surprise to nie that we succeeded in getting 
across the island ; and that we did not perish 
in the woods. 

Had we traveled upon either of the before 
named roads, instead of threading our way- 
through the woods, we should have been over- 
taken by the parties of soldiers, who were sent 
in pursuit of us. I received information sev- 
eral years after our escape, of the exertions 
that were used to overtake us and carry us 
back to Kingston. A young man, by the 
name of Hunt, was carried into Kingston, as 
a prisoner, taken by a British vessel, the day 

sickness and death than all other causes put to- 
gether. 

He says the British officers have contemplated a 
partial prohibition of intercourse between the camp 
and city, but have met with discontent from the sol- 
diers, who are unwilling to be deprived of the indul- 
gence, however painful or fatal to them in its conse- 
quences. 

The population of the island of Jamaica, in 1782, 
was about 30,000 whites, 10,000 freed negroes or mu- 
lattoes, 1,400 free maroons, and 200,000 negro slaves. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. ISl 

after our escape. Previous to his sailing from 
Boston, he had heard that I was in Kingston ; 
and, when made a prisoner, he hoped to obtain 
some assistance from me in his captivity, as 
we had been formerly acquainted. He made 
inquiries of the sergeant of the guard, placed 
over him, respecting me. The sergeant re- 
plied, that " Fox was fool enough to run off 
last night, with five others : he had no mih- 
tary duty to perform ; all he had to do was to 
shave and dress the officers, and he spent most 
of the time in walking about the streets. I 
suppose they think they will show us a Yan- 
kee trick ; but they will find themselves mis- 
taken, for there are three parties out after 
Ithem, one on each road, and they had orders 
to bring them back before night, dead or 
aUve." It seems by this account that we must 
Ihave been taken, had we not pursued our 
(journey in the woods instead of the road. 
I To return to my narrative : We lay down 
in the woods, languid and exhausted, after the 
jexcitement and fatigue from our contest with 
Ihe negroes, and slept soundly for some time, 
^hen I suddenly awoke, and saw at a little 
•distance from me the head of a monstrous ser- 



182 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

pent, raised several feet from the ground, 
and gazing earnestly upon us, with his 
mouth frightfully distended. I was so 
much alarmed that, at first, I imagined it 
to be the " old serpent" himself, and imme- 
diately awakened my companions. But 1 be- 
lieve the serpent was more alarmed than we 
were, for he darted off among the bushes with 
so much rapidity that I could not ascertain his 
length, but was satisfied that the circumfer- 
ence of his body was of the size of a man's. 

As it was now nearly dark, we thought we 
would venture agaio upon our journey. Hav- 
ing loaded our musket, the spoils of our victo- 
ry, we entered the road, and, having looked 
around with great caution, and finding no ob- 
stacles in the way to excite any apprehension, 
we started forward. We knew not for a cer- 
tainty where we were ; but were satisfied, 
from the time we had consumed in our jour- 
ney, that we could not be at a great distance 
from the northern side of the island. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. • 183 



CHAPTER XII. 

We traveled all night, occasionally stop- 
ping to rest, and refresh ourselves with some 
of the hard biscuit, which we had found in the 
pockets of the negroes, and a draught of wa- 
ter from the springs by the road-side. 

As daylight approached, we found ourselves 
on the summit of a hill, and in sight of the 
ocean. I doubt whether Columbus and his 
crew experienced more heart-felt joy when 
they saw the new world, than our little party 
did when we discovered the sea. We could 
hardly refrain from uttering a loud exclama- 
tion of joy. Here was an end to our wander- 
lings, our fatigue, and sufferings. We gazed 
iUpon the watery expanse with feelings of un- 
iutterable deUght, upon whose surface we were 
jto be wafted from the shores of captivity. 
1 After we had remained as long as we 
thought prudent upon the eminence, we re- 
ired to the woods, for concealment during the 



184 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

day. We needed rest, and slept the greater 
part of the day. 

We ventured out several times in the course 
of the day to take a peep abroad, but with 
great care that we should not be seen. We 
saw a number of negroes moving about in 
various directions, but were not discovered by 
any of them. 

Our plan of operations for the future was 
the subject of much discussion ; but we arri- 
ved at no definite conclusion, excepting to 
avail ourselves of any opportunity that sliould 
be offered to leave the island. 

We had supposed, although perhaps we 
had no good reason for it, that we might find 
some merchant vessel on the coast, in which 
we might be received as sailors ; as it was 
difficult to obtain men, and their wages were 
high. 

Before sun-set, we left our hiding place, after 
eating the remainder of our bread, and pro- 
ceeded cautiously towards the shore, keeping 
ourselves concealed as much as possible be- 
hind the bushes. 

We saw a number of huts, scattered along 
the shore, mostly separate, some in small clus- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 185 

ters. Part of the time during the day, a fog 
had prevailed, which now cleared away, and 
our prospect was uninterrupted. The island 
of Cuba could just be seen in the horizon, at 
the distance of thirty leagues ; between that 
and us lay the ocean smooth and unruffled, 
and not a sail to whiten its surface. 

Dejected and melancholy, we again sought 
our place of concealment, to reflect upon our 
situation, and form some determination respec- 
ting future operations. To remain where we 
were long, without starving or being detected, 
was impossible ; but how to get away was the 
problem to be solved. Undetermined what to 
do, we left our retreat again, and the first ob- 
ject that met our view upon the water was a 
sail-boat directing her course to the shore near 
where we were. 

Here was a means of escape that Providence 
had thrown in our way. Our previous des- 
pair was now changed into hope, and, with 
spirits suddenly elated, we retreated to the 
bushes to come to some immediate decision. 

We resolved ourselves into a committee, ap- 
pointed a moderator, and proceeded to busi- 
16 



186 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

ness. The question to be discussed was, 
whether we should attempt to make a prize of 
the boat, and escape to Cuba. Without 
spending much time, as we had none to spare, 
to discuss the question, or to hear speeches for, 
much less against it, we put it to vote, and 
carried it unanimously. 

The wind was blowing from the shore, and 
the boat was consequently beating in against 
the wind. This was a favorable circumstance 
for us, if we could get possession of the boat. 
The undertaking w^as fraught with difficulty 
and danger, but it was our only chance for 
escape. 

We left our council place, and crept cau- 
tiously down to the shore, keeping concealed 
as much as possible behind the bushes, till we 
arrived near to the point, at which we thought 
the boat was steering. As she was beating 
against the wind, we concluded, if the man at 
the helm could be brought down, the boat 
would luff, which would bring her near the 
shore, when we were immediately to spring on 
board. Jones, being the best marksman, took 
the musket, and seeing that it was well load. 
ed and primed, crept as close to the edge of 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 187 

the shore as he could without being discovered 
by the crew, and lay down, to wait for a good 
opportunity to fire at the man at the helm. 
Tlie rest of us kept as near to him as pos- 
sible. 

Every circumstance seemed to favor our de- 
sign. The negroes were all in their huts, and 
every thing around was quiet and still. 

The boat soon approached near enough for 
Jones to take a sure aim ; and we scarcely 
breathed as we lay extended on the ground, 
waiting for him to perform the duty assigned 
him. 

In a few moments, bang went the gun, and 
down went the negro from the helm into the 
bottom of the boat ; and, as we had anticipa- 
ted, the helm being abandoned, the boat luffed 
up in the wind and was brought close to the 
shore, which was bold, and the water deep 
enough to float her. The instant the gun was 
fired, we were upon our feet, and in the next 
moment up to our waists in the water along- 
side of the boat. 

No time was lost in shoving her about, and 
getting her bows from the land. There was 
a fresh breeze from the shore ; the sails filled ; 



188 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

and the boat was soon under a brisk head 
way. I remained in the water the last, and, 
as I attempted to get on board, my hands slip- 
ped from my hold on the gunwale, and I fell 
into the water. I heard an exclamation, 
" Good God ! Pox is lost !" from one of our 
party ; but, as the boat swept by me, I caught 
with my middle finger in the noose of a rope 
that hung over the stern, and was seized by 
the cape of my jacket and drawn into the boat 
by the powerful arm of Jones, who was man- 
aging the helm. All that I have described 
was apparently the work of a moment. Nev- 
er did men use greater exertions than we did 
at this time. 

The report of Jones's gun alarmed the ne- 
groes, and brought them from their huts in all 
directions down to the shore, armed with mus- 
kets and clubs, and full of rage and fury. 
They waded out after us, up to their chins in 
the water ; and fired volley after volley, as fast 
as they could load. The bullets fell thickly 
around us, but fortunately none of us were in- 
jured. Our progress was so rapid, that we 
were soon out of reach of their shot ; but, as 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 189 

soon as we could find time, we loaded our gun 
and gave one parting salute. 

Our attention was next directed to the dis- 
posal of the crew of the boat we had captured, 
consisting of three men and a boy. As soon 
as we sprang into the boat, they fled with ter- 
ror and amazement into a sort of cabin in the 
bow, where they still reinained. 

It was no wonder that they were frightened, 
attacked so suddenly by an enemy, who, as it 
seemed to them, had arisen all at once from the 
bowels of the earth or the depths of the ocean. 

Whether the head of the negro at the helm 
was ballet-proof, or whether the ball approach- 
ed so near to it as to frighten him into insen- 
sibility, we never knew ; but we found him 
prostrate in the bottom of the boat, when we 
entered it, apparently dead ; but, to our grati- 
fication, we soon found that he was alive, and 
not a curl of his wool discomposed. 

He was soon upon his knees, supplicating 
mercy, in which attitude and tone he was 
followed by the rest of the crew as we called 
them from their hiding place. Had we been 
disposed to do an unjust action, we had an op- 
portunity of reahzing a considerable sum of 



190 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

money, by carrying them to Cuba and selling 
them for slaves. 

The temptation was great to men desti- 
tute of funds as we were ; but our moral sense 
overcame the temptation, and we gave them 
their choice to proceed with us on our voyage, 
or expose themselves to the hazard of drown- 
ing by attempting to swim ashore. They ac- 
cepted the latter proposition with much grati- 
tude, and were soon swimming lustily for the 
shore, from which we were at the distance of 
more than a mile, where we saw them all 
safely arrive. 

We felt some anxiety respecting the ability 
of the boy to swim so far ; but, as he was de- 
sirous of going with them, two of our men took 
him by his arms and legs, and gave him a 
regular yo-hoi-ho heave ; and we had the sat- 
isfaction of seeing the little fellow shaking the 
water from his curly pate upon the shore, be- 
fore his companions had landed. 

The negroes collected around them in great 
numbers after they landed, probably to hear 
their account of the transaction ; and to ob- 
tain information concerning our intentions and 
destination. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 191 

We felt animated by our success. We found 
the boat in good order ; and, with a fresh 
breeze, we made rapid progress. We found a 
plenty of provisions in the boat, with which, 
for the first time for five days, we abundantly 
satisfied our hunger. 

It was now nearly dark, and we had got a 
considerable distance from the shore ; but we 
continued to watch the movements of the ne- 
groes with anxiety, lest they should pursue 
us. After the negroes had held a short con- 
sultation together, we saw them all start oflf 
with great rapidity towards a point of landj 
under which w^e thought we could see some- 
thing lying, that had the appearance of a ves- 
sel. As the negroes ran in that direction, we 
had no doubt that they had some plan in con- 
templation in relation to our capture. Our 
fears and conjectures were soon reduced to a 
matter of fact ; for we had proceeded but a lit- 
tle distance farther, when we came in plain 
sight of a schooner at anchor. We could see 
the negroes rush on board of her, and could 
just discern, or our fears caused us to imagine 
it, the uplifted axe, which cut away the cable 
and liberated her from her moorings. The 



192 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

schooner was soon under weigh, and saiUng in 
a direction to cut us off ; but we trusted that 
the approaching darkness would in a short 
time conceal us from the sight of our pursu- 
ers. As the schooner was a large object, com- 
pared with our httle boat, we could see her 
long after we were invisible to them. After 
being satisfied of the course the schooner was 
taking, we thought the best way to avoid her 
would be to put about directly for Jamaica. 

We sailed in this direction till we supposed 
that our enemy had got considerably past the 
course for us to pursue, when we again put 
about, and steered as directly as we were able 
for Cuba. The sails of our boat consisted of 
a small jib, and a sort of a square sail ; and, 
the breeze being quite fresh, they were well 
filled, and our progress was rapid. 

In the morning, when from the hill w^e dis- 
covered what we supposed to be Cuba, we as- 
certained its bearing from Jamaica, by our 
little compass ; and now directed our course 
to the point, where we should find a place of 
safety. 

Once, during the night, we were alarmed by 
a noise like the sound of voices, and thought 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 193 

tliat the schooner was near us. We saw her, 
or imagined so ; but could not determine with 
certainty whether it was a reality or the result 
of our excited imaginations. 

We sailed without interruption through the 
night, and, from the rapidity with which we 
had passed through the water, we concluded 
we could not be a great distance from the 
land. As soon as daylight approached, we 
espied the shore, and lost no time in making 
for it. Shortly after, we saw, at a considerable 
distance, the schooner, apparently steering for 
Jamaica. They discovered us, and altered 
their course directly for us. Their approach, 
however, excited no alarm in our minds now, 
for we were sure that we could run our boat 
on shore before they could come up with us. 
Their kind intentions were manifested in the 
compliment of a few salutes from a swivel, 
which proved as harmless as the courtesy we 
endeavored to show them by a half of a dozen 
salutes from the musket, which had previously 
done us more faithful service. The schooner 
soon gave up the chase, " and left us alone 
in our glory." 
17 



194 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

As we approached the shore, we saw six or 
eight men running down towards us, and ma- 
king signs for us to keep off, and to go round 
a point of land to the leeward. We were sat- 
isfied that their motive was friendly, as, at that 
part of the shore, a heavy surf was running, 
which would have made it very dangerous for 
us to have attempted to land. 

After we had passed round the point, we 
lay to, till we were boarded by four or five 
Spaniards, who came off in a small boat. We 
knew as little of their language as tlie}' of 
ours ; but, by a variety of gesticulations, and 
often repeating the words, America, Jamaica, 
Kingston, &c. we made them comprehend in 
some degree our circumstances. 

They saw that we were in distress, and 
probably were not unwilling to appropriate 
our boat to their use. 

It was easy for them to perceive by our 
looks that we had suffered much from fatigue 
and hunger ; the last two days we had endur- 
ed as much as human nature w^as capable of 
sustaining, and the effects were visible in our 
appearance. They took us on shore, carried 
us to a hut, where they placed before us 12 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 195 

plentiful supply of pork and pease, togetlier 
with a large bowl of beans. This was the 
first comfortable meal we had enjoyed since 
we left Kingston, and we enjoyed it in peace, 
without any fear of interruption. 

We eat to our stomachs' content, and then 
were left alone to obtain some sleep, of which 
we were in great need, having been nearly as 
destitute of that, as we had been of food, for 
the last six days. We slept soundly till past 
noon. 

1 think 1 have never since enjoyed a more 
satisfactory meal or more refreshing sleep, than 
I did that day. No care for the future crossed 
our minds. Our dangers were passed, our ob- 
ject was accomplished. We felt ourselves 
fr^e men. When we reflected upon the events 
of the last six days ; the hazard, to which we 
had been exposed ; the desperate encounters 
we had maintained ; our hair-breadth escapes; 
our hearts were filled with gratitude to Him, 
who over-rules all things, and by whose good- 
ness we had been preserved. 

Enlisting in the British service I had never 
ceased to regret, from the moment I left the 
old Jersey prison-ship. There was some- 



196 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

thing revolting to the mind of an American 
in the reflection of being subject to the authori- 
ty of the oppressors of his country. It was a 
thraldom, from which I was determined to be 
liberated. My mind was occupied with this 
intention : danger and death were minor con- 
siderations, compared with the accomplishment 
of this object. It was accomplished ; we a- 
woke, and rejoiced that we were free. But 
much remained to be done ; and although we 
were safe from pursuit, we were strangers in 
a strange land, far from our native soil, and 
ignorant of what means were in our power to 
return to our own country. 

The people around appeared to be friendly, 
but still they looked upon us with suspicion ; 
and, though they did not treat us like prison^ 
ers, they watched our motions with some de- 
gree of vigilance. When we went out of the 
hut, where we had been so hospitably enter- 
tained, we found a large collection of Span- 
iards, who, by the language common to man, 
questioned us respecting whence we came, 
who we were, and whither we wished to 
go. To all of these questions we rephed as 
well as we were able, by gestures and 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 197 

grimaces, making ourselves as intelligible to 
them as they did to us. 

It was evident to us, that our friends were 
desirous of our departure, and were willing to 
offer us every facility to favor their wishes. 
We reciprocated their good feelings, and were 
as anxious to leave them as they were to bid 
us farewell. 

Pork, pease, and beans, were again set be- 
fore us, upon which we made a sumptuous 
repast, and felt ourselves surprisingly recruit- 
ed. Our friends then directed our attention 
to a small vessel, lying up a creek, close under 
the land, which was ready to sail for St. Do- 
mingo, now called Hayti. They engaged a 
passage for us in this vessel, which was of 
about fifty tons' burden, and rigged hke a 
lugger. 

We weighed anchor about sun-set, but, as 
it was foggy, our progress was at first rather 
slow. After a sail of three days, we approach- 
ed the island of St. Domingo in the night, and 
lay off till the next day, when, the wind pro- 
ving favorable, we run into port, and dropped 
anchor in the harbor of Cape Francois, now 
Cape Henri. 



198 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

During this short voyage, we received much 
kind treatment from the captain and crew, 
being plentifully supplied with provisions, 
and permitted to enjoy as much rest as we 
desired. 

With recovered strength and spiiits, we 
prepared to leave the vessel ; and, w4th grati- 
tude to the captain for his kindness, and to 
God for his mercies, we went on board of the 
American frigate Flora, of thirty-two guns, 
commanded by Henry Johnson, esq. of 
Boston. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 199 



CHAPTER XIII. 



In the year 1778, Count d'Estaing, with 
his fleet, approached Newport, R. I. with the 
intention of attacking the British, who were 
in possession of that place. The British des- 
troyed their frigates in the harbor, to prevent 
their faUing into the hands of the enemy. 
The Orpheus, Lark, Juno, and Cerberus frig- 
ates, they burned ; the Flora and the Falcon 
they sunk. The Americans afterwards rais- 
ed the Flora, and fitted her up for service 
against her former masters. This frigate I 
found anchored in the harbor of Cape Henri. 

The sight of the thirteen stripes and stars, 
floating over an American frigate, gave ani- 
mation to our thoughts and actions. We felt 
sure of safety and protection. With much ex- 
ultation and satisfaction, we stepped upon the 
deck of the Flora. We could hardly realize 
that we were the same men, who, a few days 
before, were fleeing through the woods of Ja- 
maica, Hke beasts of night, avoiding the hght 
of day, and afraid of the sight of a negro. 



200 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

When we compared our present condition 
with what it had been during the greater part 
of the past year ; in confinement on board of 
that " floating hell," the " Old Jersey" ; in 
garrison, serving the enemy of our country, 
with feelings of disgust and despondency ; fu- 
gitives from that enemy, under circumstances 
that rendered our escape almost hopeless, with 
the certainty of death in case of detection ; 
when we thought of all this, and found our- 
selves standing erect, among our own country- 
men, upon the deck of an American frigate, 
we almost doubted our personal identity : our 
feelings may be more easily imagined than 
described. 

Captain Johnson received us kindly, and 
was willing to employ us for the voyage at a 
compensation of ten dollars per month ; but, 
when my comrades were informed that the 
vessel was not going directly to Boston ; that 
she would visit France first, and might stay 
there some time, they declined engaging in 
her service. Two of them belonged to Con- 
necticut, one to Rhode-Island, and the other 
was an Irishman. They succeeded in finding 
a vessel that was bound to some port near 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 201 

home, and whose voyage would be less circui- 
tous than that of the Flora. 1 was the only 
one of our little party, who had suffered so 
much together, who entered into the service 
of Captain Johnson. I was as anxious to get 
home as my companions ; but there was a 
degree of safety on board of the Flora, which 
I could not expect on board of a merchant 
ship. 

I likewise felt some desire of visitingFrance ; 
and I entertained some hope that we might 
make some captures in the course of the voy- 
age ; for I had not yet rested long enough 
after my sufferings to cultivate the christian 
spirit of " forgiveness to my enemies." 1 felt 
willing to encounter the hazard of an engage- 
ment, for an opportunity to pay off some old 
scores, which I fancied were then their due. 

I received from our noble captain two 
months' wages in advance, and, being desti- 
tute of every thing necessary for the voyage, 
excepting the miserable clothes which I wore, 
I was permitted to go on shore to make .the 
purchases that I thought requisite. 

As my companions had determined not to 
engage in the service of the Flora, but to seek 



202 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

for a berth on board of some other vessel, I 
knew that I must experience the painful task 
of separation from those who were endeared 
to me as fellow-sufferers in afflictions and dan- 
gers. The ties of friendship, which united 
us, were too strong to be easily broken. The 
circumstances, which had engaged us in one 
common cause, had created a fraternal feeling 
in our breasts too deep to be soon obliterated. 
We concluded to grace our parting with a 
farewell supper. We adjourned to a public 
house, and gave directions for a sumptuous 
repast ; and, while it was preparing, we rega- 
led ourselves upon a few bottles of claret, in 
order to elevate our spirits to a proper degree, 
that the gloomy thoughts of our separation 
might not allow our supper to be a melancho- 
ly one. By the time the feast was prepared, 
our spirits were raised to a proper state for en- 
joyment ; and a happier or more jolly set of 
fellows never assembled around a table, than 
we were that night. 

The sufferings we had endured, and the 
dangers we had passed, were fruitful subjects 
for conversation. We eat and drank till a 
late hour, when we arose from the table, and, 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 203 

grasping each other by the hand and with 
feehngs that touched our hearts, we said to 
each other, " God bless you — farewell." To 
me this was a final farewell to my compan- 
ions ; from that time to the present I have 
never seen one of them, nor have I ever heard 
what became of them. 

As they were all older than myself, it is not 
probable that any of them are now among the 
Hving. If they are, I repeat the farewell wish, 

which T gave fifty-six years ago " God 

bless you !" 

The next day, after 1 had purchased what 
articles of clothing I thought necessary for the 
voyage, I went on board of the Flora, and 
reported myself ready for duty. 

This ship, as I have observed, was former- 
ly a British frigate, but, after she was raised 
by the Americans, she was fitted out as a 
letter-of-marque, and sent by her owners on 
the present voyage. 

With mingled feelings of happiness, grati- 
tude, and pride, 1 entered into the service of 
my country once more, and stepped with 
much satisfaction upon the deck of this fine 
ship. Captain Johnson was an excellent ofli- 



204 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

cer ; very affable and courteous in his man- 
ners ; and much beloved by his officers and 
crew. 

If any thing could add to the satisfac- 
tion I experienced in finding myself on board 
of an American ship, commanded by agreeable 
officers, and surrounded by a crew principally 
of my own countrymen, it was the circum- 
stance of finding several Bostonians, with 
whom I had formerly been partially acquaint- 
ed. Among these was Mr. Nathaniel Craft, of 
Roxbury, who afterwards died at Bordeaux : 
and Samuel G. Perkins, esq. of Boston, then 
a young man, brother of the Hon. Thomas H. 
Perkins, distinguished for his philanthropy and 
benevolence. How different is the character 
of this last named gentleman from that of 
many others, who have lived apparently for 
the sole purpose of leaving to their heirs the 
inheritance of a bloated fortune ; to quarrel 
about its division, and then perhaps to dissipate 
in a few years, what has cost their fathers the 
labor of a long life to accumulate. Of these 
all that can be said is, — they lived — they died, 
— and their names have perished with 
them. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 205 



-" Even half a million 



Gets him no other praise" than, 

He toiled and moiled, 

Poor muckworm ! thro' his threescore years and ten, 
And when the earth shall now be shovelled on him, 
If that which served him for a soul were still 
Within its husk, 'twould still be dirt to dirt. 

Having amassed a princely fortune, Mr. 
Perkins manifests the benevolence of his heart 
in the liberal use he makes of it : not in os- 
tentation and parade, but for the benefit of 
his fellow creatures. He enjoys the satisfac- 
tion of doing good, and of seeing the fruits of 
his goodness while he lives. He does not wait 
for his works to follow him ; he has the plea- 
sure of seeing them go before him. He does 
not wait for his children to '*' rise up and call 
him blessed ;" he hears the blessings of grate- 
ful hearts, and feels a consciousness of having 
been a faithful steward. 

When I pass through Pearl-street, and look 
upon his noble bequest, " The Institution for 
the Blind," and reflect upon what a vast a- 
mount of happiness he has conferred upon 
those unfortunate beings, from whom the bles- 
sing of light has been shut, I cannot but think 



206 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

that he will receive a more glorious reward 
than he enjoys on earth ; a welcome into 
mansions of rest where peace and righteous- 
ness forever reign. 

To return to my narrative : There were 
lying in the port of Cape-Francois, while we 
were there, several Spanish and French ships 
of war, in want of men, waiting till they could 
obtain their complement, with the intention of 
sailing in quest of the British fleet. 

The Sunday previous to our saihng, I with 
several of the crew obtained permission to go 
on shore. It was customary then in foreign 
ports to allow the sailors to make use of Sun- 
day as a day of recreation. While we were 
enjoying ourselves over a bottle of wine in a 
public house, a large press-gang of Frenchmen 
suddenly entered, and, seizing upon all of us, 
hurried us off into their boat ; and notwith- 
standing our protestations against this outrage 
upon Americans, conveyed us on board of a 
French seventy-four. We immediately made 
known to the captain that we belonged to the 
Flora, and demanded to be released. But he 
showed no disposition to comply with our de- 
mands, saying that he was in want of handsr 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 207 

and that we should receive as good pay and 
treatment on board of his ship as in our own. 

This was poor consolation for us. It was 
provoking as well as distressing to be thus im- 
prisoned as it were, in sight of our own ship ; 
but, having no communication with her, we 
could not give any information of our situa- 
tion. We knew that the combined fleet was 
to sail in a few days ;* and although we had 
no objections to fighting our old enemy the 
British, we yet had some choice as it respected 
the company we fought in, and had but little 
desire to obey the orders of French officers, or 
to mingle our blood with that of their crew. 

My desire to get away from this ship was as 
great as it had formerly been to escape from 
the British at Kingston ; and the difficulty of 
ejecting it appeared about as formidable. It 
was vain to regret, that I did not spend the 
sabbath on board of the Flora, instead of ca- 
rousing at a public house on shore. My re- 
gret was sincere ; and 1 resolved never to be 

* The combined fleet sailed shortly after, under 
the command of the Count de Grasse, and vi^ere near- 
ly all taken or destroyed by the British fleet. See 
Appendix, at the end of the book. 



208 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

guilty of such imprudence again, were I once 
more safe on board of our good ship. 

Of our impressed party, consisting of four or 
five, not one could swim except myself. We 
conferred together, and came to the conclusion 
that the only chance we had for escape con- 
sisted in my attempting to swim in the night 
to the Flora, which lay about a quarter of a 
mile from the seventy-four. I had no fear of 
not being able to swim that distance ; the onl}'^ 
danger I apprehended was from the sharks, 
which were very abundant in those waters. 

I agreed with my companions, that this ap- 
peared to be the only practicable method of 
escape ; and, after some urging on their part, 
and some flattery of the honor I should gain 
by the achievement, I concluded to undertake 
it that night. 

Late at night I went on deck, accompanied 
by one of my friends, and, finding the sentinel 
asleep, we went forward, and divesting my- 
self of my jacket, but keeping on my hat, 
shirt, and trousers, I slid down by the cable 
quietly into the water, and struck out for the 
Flora. 

Of all the dangers, to which I had been ex- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 209 

posed in the course of my adventures, 1 con- 
sider this the greatest. The horror of mind I 
experienced, whilst swimming, is indescriba- 
ble. My agitation was so great, that I won- 
der that I did not sink through fear of being 
devoured. I imagined a shark at my feet ev- 
ery time I threw them out. 1 exerted myself 
with so much vigor, that in a very short time 
I was alongside of the Flora, but in so ex- 
hausted a state, that I could hardly raise my- 
self over the side of the boat, which floated 
alongside of the ship. I threw myself into the 
bottom, from which T v/as scarcely able to 
move for some time. 

After I had recovered a sufficient degree of 
strength, I ascended the side of the ship, and, 
finding no one on deck, I lay down in my m et 
clothes, and putting my hat under my head, 
slept soundly all night. 

When 1 awoke in the morning, 1 found 
that I was unable to move in consequence of 
my clothes adhering to the pitch, which the 
heat of the climate caused to ooze from the 
seams in the deck. By using considerable ex- 
ertion, and roUing one way and the other, I at 
18 



210 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

length liberated myself from my confinement, 
and stood erect once more on the deck of 
an American ship. 

I immediately communicated to Captain 
Johnson the cause of my absence and the situ- 
ation of my companions, and their great de- 
sire to be again on board of his ship, and the 
hazardous undertaking I had accomplished 
to give him information of the circumstances. 

Captain Johnson immediately sent an offi- 
cer with his boat, and demanded the release of 
his men. The captain of the French seventy- 
four gave them up and made many apologies, 
in the pohte manner of a Frenchman, for " the 
mistake that was made in impressing his 
friends the Americans." Thus I had the sat- 
isfaction of being the instrument in restoring 
my countrymen to their ship, and of finding 
myself safe in the protection of our excellent 
commander. 

Having taken in our loading of sugar, and 
every thing being ready for sea, we hoisted 
anchor, and set sail about the middle of May, 
1782. The first few days after leaving the 
Cape, we had but little wind ; afterwards we 
made good progress, and continued on ©ui' 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 211 

course without interruption for about a fort- 
night ; when we fell in with a British brig 
from Liverpool, bound to New-York. We 
took possession of her, and, putting an officer 
and prize crew on board, ordered her for Bos- 
ton, where she arrived. I afterwards receiv- 
ed thirty dollars as my share of the prize- 
money. 

We continued on our voyage, and, in eight 
days after, captured a large ship bound to 
Gluebec, loaded with munitions of war and 
clothing for soldiers, a very valuable prize. 
She was ordered for Boston, but, unluckily for 
us, never arrived there, being afterwards re- 
captured, by a British ship of war, off the 
Banks of Newfoundland. Had she arrived 
safely at Boston, my share of the prize-money 
would have amounted to a considerable sum. 

It was nearly three weeks after, when we 
arrived off the coast of France, and, having 
taken a pilot on board, our ship was carried 
up the Garonne to the city of Bordeaux, 
where, on account of the rapidity of the cur- 
rent, she was moored both head and stern. 

Our ship was soon unloaded, and stripped 
of her sails and rigging, as preparatory to htr 



212 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

being laid up till orders could be received from 
Boston. Part of the crew were paid off and 
discharged ; the remainder, that chose, were 
permitted to remain on board upon small wa- 
ges. Captain Johnson hired a house in the 
city, where he lived with his servants in a style 
becoming the dignity of the commander of a 
fine American ship. 

As the Flora was a fast-sailing vessel, our 
captain was in expectation of receiving orders 
from home to fit her out as a cruiser. In the 
hope of having another cruise, and anticipating 
an abundance of captures with the natural 
consequence resulting, — an enormous amount 
of prize-money, — I was wiUing to remain in 
the ship, with the expectation of being one of 
her favored crew. We remained at Bordeaux 
about nine months, and begun to grow impa- 
tient at not receiving any directions from home 
respecting our future operations. 

When we arrived at Bordeaux, we found 
in the harbor, which is very capacious, five or 
six hundred vessels, bearing the flags of va- 
rious nations, among which our stars and 
stripes held a conspicuous place. As we had 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 213 

but little work to perform on board of tbe ship, 
much of our time was spent on shore. 

"With the improvidence, characteristic of sai- 
lors, our money was spent freely ; and in a 
few days almost every one of the crew graced 
his pocket with a watch, from which a formi- 
dable chain was suspended ; and, to complete 
the equipment, adorned his head with a new 
hat trimmed with a broad band of gold lace. 

When we made a visit on shore, we were 
very careful to return to the ship before dark, 
partly on account of the patrol, that paraded 
the streets at night, but principally in conse- 
quence of the danger of being on the river af- 
ter dark. The current of the Garonne is ex- 
tremely rapid. With the help of the tide, w^e 
ascended the river to Bordeaux in three or 
four days ; anchoring every time the tide eb- 
bed. The tide rises twice a day to the height 
of four or five yards, and the velocity of the 
current sometimes exceeds three yards in a 
second. Bordeaux, from its commerce and 
importance, ranks among the first towns in the 
kingdom; and its harbor is capable of contain- 
ing a thousand ships. 

One night, a number of our crew, after hav- 



214 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

ing spent the day on shore, attempted to return 
to the ship after dark. The boat pushed off 
with four oars, directing her course for the 
head of the vessel. She arrived at the star- 
board bow, and was crossing it so as to bring 
up on the larboard side, when she unfortu- 
nately ran upon the cable, and was immedi- 
ately drawn under the ship. A boat was let 
down as soon as possible, and all the men 
picked up but one, who was drowned. The 
boat floated off, but was found the next day 
and brought back to the ship. 

Having visited nearly every part of the city, 
and seen all the wonders of the place, and 
spent nearly all our money ; we began to 
grow tired of our monotonous life, and were 
desirous of being engaged in active service, or 
of returning to our native land. Twelv,e or 
fifteen American vessels were then lying in 
the port, waiting for orders from home. Among 
these 1 recollect the large ship, which was 
commanded by the renowned John Paul 
Jones, in whose service the American seamen 
were desirous of engaging. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 215 



CHAPTER XIV. 

We began to grow impatient with our long 
stay in France, and became anxious to return 
[lome. 

An end was soon put toouranxietiesupon this 
subject. Early in the spring of the year 1783, 
news arrived of the peace, and that Great- 
Britain, after a contest of seven years, had 
acknowledged the Independence of the United 
States. This news ought to have produced 
as much joy and satisfaction among the Amer- 
icans in Bordeaux, as it did among their fellow 
countrymen at iiome. But this news, so 
highly prized in the United States, produced 
much misery and distress among the seamen 
in foreign ports. A small number of them 
only were necessary to navigate the ships up- 
on their return ; the remainder were of course 
discharged, and left destitute of means to ena- 
ble them to return to their own country. He 
considered himself fortunate, who could obtain 
a passage home for the labor he might per- 
form, without receiving any other compensa- 
tion for his services. 



216 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

Our excellent captain, Johnson, made great 
exertions to procure passages for those of his 
crew, whom he did not wish to detain till he 
received orders respecting the future destina- 
tion of his ship, and who were anxious to get 
home. There happened at this time to be, on 
a visit at Bordeaux, the captains of two Amer- 
ican brigs, lying at Nantes, bound for Boston, 
w^ho were in want of hands. These gentle- 
men wished to obtain sixteen or eighteen A- 
merican seamen, and Captain Johnson kindly 
offered to recommend me among that number. 

We engaged in the service of these captains, 
and made a bargain with the captain of a French 
lugger to carry us to Nantes. We immediately 
repaired on board, and proceeded slowly down 
the river, as the current is so swift that it is 
necessary for a vessel to go down the river 
stern foremost, dragging an anchor all the 
time from her bows to retard her too rapid 
progress. We were nearly three days in get- 
ting down th^, river, and about as much longer 
in our passage to Nantes. 

Nantes, which held the second rank, after 
Bordeaux, as a commercial city, is on the right 
bank of the Loire. It is admired for the reg- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 217 

tilarity of its streets, the elegance of its public 
buildings, and the magnificence of its quays. 

The verdant banks of the river, and the 
many islands scattered in different directions, 
give Nantes a picturesque and beautiful ap- 
pearance. 

After our arrival at Nantes, we took lodg- 
ings at a boarding-house for a few days, until 
every thing was arranged for our reception on 
board of the brigs. 

In a few days the vessels were loaded, and 
ready to sail. We weighed anchor, and set 
sail in April, 1783. 

We were two days in getting down the riv- 
er, and anchored for a few days at Paimboeuf, 
a town situated on the left bank of the Loire, 
about thirty miles below Nantes. 

We then weighed anchor, for the last time, 
with a joyful " Yeo-a-hoi," and set sail for our 
native land ; — a land of freedom, where I an- 
ticipated, with emotions that cannot be descri- 
bed, the pleasure of meeting with 
friends, from whom I had been so 
and where I hoped to enjoy" the f 
erty, without any thing " to mo 
19 



218 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES - 

me afraid." I had endured much hardship ; 
encountered many dangers, on the ocean and 
upon the land ; and I trust that I felt grateful 
for the support and protection 1 had experienced. 
After all my wanderings, 1 found that I cov- 
eted rest, in my dear native land, more than 
all other things. In the morning of life, as T 
then was, full of health and strength and 
buoyant spirits, the idea of once more seeing 
home gave so much animation to my feelings, 
that I was enabled to perform my duties with 
a degree of alacrity scarcely equalled by any 
of the crew. Every little service I could per- 
form was a pleasure to me, as I was conscious 
that it helped to forward my onward course to 
the object of all my wishes — Home. 

" There is a spot of earth supremely blest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest, 
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside 

;re, pageantry and pride. 
; the mother, daughter, wife ; 
wers the narrow path of life, 
nd, that spot of earth be found 7 
patriot ? look around : 
howe'er thy footsteps roam, 
STRYj and that spot thy home." 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 219 

Our voyage was a pleasant one, and noth- 
ing uncommon occurred, till we arrived on the 
American coast, when we fell in with six or 
eight British ships, bound to England. 

Their decks were covered with the well- 
known " red coats," who had survived the at- 
tempt to conquer our country. 

As our flag of stripes and stars was con- 
spicuously displayed, they knew that we were 
" Yankees," with whom they showed no de- 
sire to continue an acquaintance. 

Our captain hailed them, to know " whence 
they were from, and whither bound ?" but no 
answer was returned. Again he repeated his 
question ; but his Yankee curiosity was not 
gratified. He once more put his trumpet to 
his mouth, and roared with a voice like thun- 
der, " Go and be , we neither love nor 

fear you." 

Our course was directed to Boston, and, 
shortly after our captain's friendly salutation, 
we anchored in Nantasket roads, and in few 
days arrived in Boston. 

I stepped ashore on Long-wharf, in the lat- 
ter part of May, 1783, after an absence of 
about three years. 



220 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

As soon as I could get released from the 
vessel, 1 visited my brother James, at Mr. 
Tuckerman's, where he had lived during my 
absence, to obtain information respecting my 
good mother and my brothers and sisters. 

From him I received the pleasing intelli- 
gence, that the family were all in good health ; 
butthatmy mother had given up ail hope of ever 
seeing me again on earth. While walking 
over Boston Neck to Roxbury, where my 
mother still resided, my brother and I arranged 
a plan to introduce me to my mother as a 
sailor, who had just arrived from a foreign 
port, where he had seen her son Eben. and 
had some interesting information to commu- 
nicate concerning him. We soon arrived at 
the house, and I was formally introduced in 
the manner proposed. Time, hardship, and 
exposure to various climates, had produced 
such an alteration in my personal appearance, 
that it is no wonder that the eye of maternal 
affection did not recognize me. The good old 
lady received me very kindly, and manifested 
all the interest, which it is natural for a mother 
to feel towards one who has seen and con- 
versed with a long-absent son. 



OP EBENEZER FOX. 221 

After having conversed with her for some 
time, and endeavored to answer a multitude 
of questions, which soon grew too minute for 
my ingenuity to invent answers satisfactory to 
her, I could no longer conceal my impatience 
to make myself known, and exclaimed, as I 
arose to embrace her, " Mother, don't you 
know your son ?" 

Her joy may be more easily imagined, than 
described. I was at home. The alternate 
hopes and fears, that had so long agitated her 
mind, were now all over. She saw me alive 
and well. It was sufficient ; she was satisfied 
and happy. 

She shed tears of gratitude and joy, and we 
both blessed God that we were permitted to 
be united in a family circle once more. My 
four brothers and three sisters, as well as my 
mother, were all anxious to hear me relate 
my adventures, with which I gratified 
their curiosity as soon as I was able, and 
which produced many exclamations of fear, 
of horror, of amazement, and joy. 

My story was related at that time to all my 
acquaintance, and it has been so often repeat- 
ed in the course of my long Hfe, that all its in- 



222 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

cidents are so strongly impressed upon my 
mind, that, at this distant period, I can bring 
them up in my thoughts with all the freshness 
of recent transactions. 

While I was on board of the ship Flora, in 
the harbor of Cape-Francois, I wrote a few 
lines to my mother, informing her of my es- 
cape from Jamaica, &c. ; and this was all the 
information she had ever obtained concerning 
me, excepting a knowledge of the fact of my 
having left the " old Jersey" and enlisted in 
the British service. 

A circumstance transpired, during my ab- 
sence, highly gratifying and flattering to my 
feelings, as it served to show me that the poor, 
wandering boy had friends at home, who 
manifested a Hvely interest in his welfare. 

Before I enlisted on board of the Protector^ 
I had recommended myself to the notice of 
many respectable gentlemen, who were cus- 
tomers to my master, and have reason to 
think that my services were acceptable to 
them. 

These gentlemen had received information 
of the manner, in which I had left the prison- 
ship, and had knowledge enough of my char- 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 223 

acter to conjecture what my motives were for 
such a proceeding. They had likewise heard 
that I had been carried to Jamaica, and was 
performing garrison duty there. 

A subscription paper was carried round for 
the purpose of raising a sum of money, suffi- 
cient to purchase my discharge from the Brit- 
ish. The names of the gentlemen, who evin- 
ced the kindness of their feelings towards me, 
by the hberality of their benevolence, I shall 
ever remember with gratitude ; and, as they 
continued to be customers to my master after 
my return, I am able, at this remote period, to 
pay this humble tribute to their memory. They 
are as follows : — Col. Joshua Davis, Dea. Ca- 
leb Davis, Gen. Amasa Davis, Capt. Robert 
Davis, Ephraim May, Samuel May, ColJohn 
May, Edward Tuckerman, Capt. Nathan Cur- 
tis, William Allen of Dorchester, subscribed 
two guineas ; Ebenezer Wales, Ebenezer 
Dorr, Joseph Dorr, and many others, whose 
names I do not remember. All of the above 
named gentlemen are numbered with the dead, 
and 1 trust are enjoying the high reward, 
which is promised to those, who practise deeds 
of love and benevolence on earth. 



224 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

The money, thus raised, was entrusted to 
the care of a gentleman named Perry, then 
living on Jamaica Plain in Roxbury, and who 
was about saihng to the island of Jamaica. 

My letter to my mother, from St. Domingo, 
arrived before Capt.Perry sailed on his voyage, ' 
and rendered unnecessary the execution of this 
benevolent intention for my liberation. No 
act of kindness, which I have ever experienced, 
has impressed my mind with more heart-felt 
gratitude, than the generous act I have related ; 
and, whenever I have met the descendants of 
my benefactors, some of whom now reside in 
the southerly part of Boston, they have had 
my secret but sincere wishes for their prosper- 
ity and happiness. 

I returned to the service of Mr.Bosson,*and 



* My share of prize-money was eighty dollars, all 
of which Mr. Bosson took. As I was his apprentice, 
and not free, he had a legal right to it ; but, as I re- 
membered his agreement was to give me one half of 
the prize-money and wages I was to receive, and as 
he retained the whole, I thought I would make an 
off-set by keeping about thirty dollars, my share of 
the proceeds of a prize, taken while I was on board 
of the Flora, and what wages I had not expended in 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 225 

remained with him till I was twenty-one years 
of age, when I established myself in business 
in my native place, where I have remained to 
this day. 1 commenced business in the prac- 
tice of the trade I had learned ; but, after a 
few years, T relinquished it, and opened a store 
for the sale of crockery, glass, and hard ware, 
in which business I continued till the year 
1837,* when, finding my infirmities, especially 
my deafness, increasing, I thought it time to 
quit all active employment ; and to ride at an- 
chor the remainder of my days. 

France. This money I loaned to a friend, who nev- 
er found it convenient to repay it. Such was the 
pecuniary result of my three years' suffering. In 
justice to the memory of Mr. Bosson, it is proper for 
me to state, that he said that the prize-money he re- 
ceived became of no value in his hands, as he took it 
in the paper currency of the times. 

* In the year 1831, I was appointed Post-Master, 
at Roxbury, which office, after four or five years, I 
resigned ; and the present incumbent, E. G. Lemon, 
esq. was appointed my successor. 



226 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 



APPENDIX. 

August 24, 1838, I visited my old shipmate, Lu- 
ther Little, esq. at Marshfield, Mass. This gentle- 
man, it will be recollected, was severely wounded in 
an action with the " Admiral DufF." We had not 
seen each other for fifty-eight years ; and the feel- 
ings we experienced at meeting, after so long a sep- 
aration, may be better imagined than described. At 
the last time I had seen him, he was twenty-four 
years of age, and I was seventeen. 

What a change time has made in our appear- 
ance ! I never before was so forcibly struck with 
the truth of the observation, that " time makes 
ravages." 

I found the mental and bodily faculties of Mr. 
Little uncommonly perfect. 

He informed me, that, at the time of our capture, 
he was placed as prize-master on board of the prize 
we had in tow ; in which he escaped, and arrived at 
Boston, and thus was so fortunate as to be saved from 
a long and painful captivity. He did not, after that 
event, enter into the naval service ; but continued 
his profession on the ocean, as commander of a mer- 
chant ship, till he was forty-one years of age, when 
he retired from his occupation, and devoted himself 
to agricultural pursuits, on the farm where he was 
born, which was originally occupied by his great- 
grandfather, then by his grandfather, whom he dis- 
tinctly remembers, afterwards by his father, and 
finally by himself 

A singular instance of stability and attachment to 
place for the roving sons of New-England. 

Mr. Little is remarkably active for a man of his 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 227 

years, his sight and hearing being very good, and, 
surrounded by agreeable and intelligent children, is 
in the enjo}'ment of every blessing necessary to make 
old age comfortable and happy. 

My visit was rendered as agreeable to me as the 
kind and hospitable treatment, prompted by a warm 
and generous heart could make it. 

From Mr. Little 1 received information, that his 
brother George, our first lieutenant, with Captain 
Williams, and the other officers, were carried to 
England, and confined in prison ; — that his brother, 
with some companions in suffering, bribed a sentry ; 
made their escape ; crossed the British channel in a 
small boat, and arrived in safety in France. 

Captain Williams remained a prisoner in Eng- 
land, till peace was made. 

Mr. Little had supposed, till this visit, that he was 
the only survivor of all those, who once composed 
the crew and officers of the ship Protector ; and we 
presume, that none are now living, who ever fought 
on board of that ship, excepting ourselves. 

George Little, esq. after rendering his country 
signal service in the performance of many daring 
achievements, commanded the frigate Boston, well 
known in our naval history, and died in Marshfield, 
in a good old age. 



I have stated in my narrative, that, after the ac- 
tion with the Admiral Duff, we put into Penobscot- 
Bay, to make some repairs. Mr. Little informed 
me, that he thinks it was Broad-Bay, instead of the 
Penobscot, where we lay for that purpose. 



I have stated, that I enlisted on board of the Pro- 
tector as a marine ; but, shortly after we had com- 



228 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

menced our cruise, I was called upon to officiate as 
cabin steward, in place of one who had performed 
his duties in a manner unsatisfactory to the Captain, 



On page 95, I have given from recollection a sin- 
gle verse of a song at the ratification of the federal 
constitution by the Massachusetts convention, con- 
cerning Captain John Foster Williams. I have 
since seen an old newspaper of the year 1788, in 
which the song is contained ; and, as it may gratify 
some young reader, here insert it entire. 

MASSACHUSETTS CONVENTION. 

Tune, " Yankee Doodle.'''' 
The 'Vention did in Boston meet, 

But Statehouse could not hold 'em ; 
So then they went to Fed'ral-street, 
And there the truth was told 'em. 
Yankee doodle, keep it up ! 

Yankee doodle dandy ; 
Mind the music and the step. 
And with the girts be handy. 
They ev'ry morning went to prayer, 

And then begun disputing. 
Till opposition silenc'd were 
By arguments refuting. 

Yankee doodle, keep it up, &c. 
Then 'squire Hancock, like a man 

Who dearly loves the nation. 
By a conciliatory plan 
Prevented much vexation. 

Yankee doodle, keep it up, &c. 
He made a woundy fed'ral speech. 
With sense and elocution, 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 229 

And then the 'Vention did beseech 

T' adopt the Constitution. Yankee doodlej&c. 
The question being outright put, 

Each voter independent, 
The Fed'rahsts agreed t' adopt. 

And then propose amendment. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
The other party, seeing then 

The people were against 'em. 
Agreed, like honest faithful men. 

To mix in peace among 'em. 

Yankee doodle, keep it up, &c.. 
The Boston folks are deuced folks, 

And always full of" notions" ; 
The boys, the girls, their mams and dads, 

Were fill'd with joy's commotions. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
So, straightway they procession made, 

Lord ! how nation fine, sir ! 
For ev'ry man, of ev'ry trade. 

Went, with his tools, to dine, sir. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
John Foster Williams, in a ship, 

Join'd with a social band, sir. 
And made the lasses dance and skip. 

To see him sail on land, sir. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
O then a whapping feast begun. 

And all hands went to eating, 
They drank their toasts, shook hands, and sung 

Huzza for 'Vention meeting. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
Now politicians of all kinds, 

Who are not yet decided, 



230 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

May see how Yankees speak their minds ; 
And yet are not divided. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
Then from this sample let 'em cease 

Inflammatory writing, 
For Freedom, Happiness, and Peace, 
Are better far than fighting. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
So here I end my Fed'ral song, 

Compos'd of thirteen verses, 
May Agriculture flourish long. 
And Commerce fill our purses. 

Yankee doodle, keep it up, &c. 



The original " Yankee Doodle" is said to have 
been written by a British sergeant, as a banter on the 
character of the New-England people, or Yankees, 
as they were called. The following song appears to 
have been written to ridicule the facts relating to the 
middle or latter part of the year 1775, when the A- 
merican army, under Gen. Washington, were en- 
camped at Cambridge and Roxbury, in the vicinity 
of Boston. It is probably fresh in the memory of 
the aged, but perhaps it will be new and amusing to 
the young. 



Father and I went down to camp, 
Along with Captain Gooding, 

And there we see'd the men and boys 
As thick as hasty-pudding. 

Yankee doodle, &c. 

And there we see'd a thousand men, 
Ae rich as 'squire David ; 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 



231 



And what they wasted ev'ry day, 

I wish'd it could be saved. 

Yankee doodle,&c. 
The 'lasses they eat ev'ry day 

Would keep a house a winter ; 
They have so much, that, I'll be bound, 

They eat it when they're amind to. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
And there we see a swamping gun, 

Large as a log of maple. 
Upon a deuced little cart, 

A load for father's cattle. 

Yankee doodle, &c. 
And ev'ry time they shoot it off. 

It takes a horn of powder ; 
It makes a noise like father's gun, 

Only a nation louder, 

Yankee doodle, &c. 
I went as nigh to one myself. 

As 'Siah's underpinning ; 
And father went as nigh again ; 

I thought the deuce was in him. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
Cousin Simon was so 'tarnal bold, 

I thought he Avould have cock'd it ; 
It scar'd me so, I streak'd it off, 

And hung by father's pocket. 

Yankee doodle keep it up, &c. 
And Captain Davis had a gun, 

He kind of clapp'd his hand on't, 
And stuck a crooked stabbing iron 

Upon the little end on't. 

Yankee doodle, &c. 
And there I see a pumpkin shell 

As big as mother's basin, 



232 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

And ev'ry time they tonch'd it off, 
They scamper'd like the nation. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
I see a little barrel too, 

The heads were made of leather ; 
They knock'd upon't with little clubs, 
And call'd the folks together. 

Yankee doodle, &c. 
And there was Captain Washington, 

And gentlefolks about him ; 
They say he's grown so 'tarnal proud, 
He will not ride without 'em. 

Yankee doodle, &c. 
He got him on his meeting clothes, 

Upon a slapping stallion ; 
He set the world along in rows. 
In hundreds or a million. 

Yankee doodle, &c. 
I see another snarl of men 

A digging graves, that told me. 
So 'tarnal long, so 'tarnal deep. 

They 'tended they should hold me. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 
It scar'd me so, I hook'd it off, 
Nor stopp'd, as I remember, 
Nor turn'd about till I got home, 
Clear up in mother's chamber. 
Yankee doodle, &c. 



CUDJOE MEN. 



As some of my young readers may not understand 
what is meant by " Cudjoe men," on page 179 of 
the preceding narrative, I may be excused for giving 
the following short account of them. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 233 

The island of Jamaica was captured from the 
Spaniards in 1655, during the protectorship of Ohver 
Cromwell, by an English armament under Admiral 
Penn and Gen. Venables. The Spanish inhabitants 
had in their possession on the island at that time about 
fifteen hundred enslaved Africans, most of whom, 
"upon the surrender of their masters, retreated to the 
mountains, from whence they made frequent attacks 
on the British plantations, giving no quarter to the 
settlers, and carrying off their booty to the woods 
and fastnesses in the mountains. They were called 
Maroons, the word maroon signifying, among the 
Spanish Americans, hog hunters : the woods at that 
time abounding with the wild boar, and the pursuit 
of them constituting the principal employment of run- 
away or fugitive negroes. Marrano is the Spanish 
word for a young pig. 

This petty warfare continued from 1655 to 1738, 
a period of eighty-three years. The Maroons knew 
■every secret avenue of the country, and stole into the 
distant or new settlements by night, killing the whites, 
setting fire to the canc-fields and houses, and carry- 
ing the slaves into captivity or forcing them to join 
in the war against their English masters. 

During this long period of hostility, the British 
gained many victories over the Maroons ; penetrated 
into the mountains ; and established forts near their 
secret haunts. They trained their own slaves to repel 
and fight them from garrisons and barracks on the 
mountains or in their neighborhood. Each barrack 
was furnished with a pack of dogs, trained and pro- 
vided by the whites. These animals were called 
Spanisli dogs or bloodhounds, and proved extremely 
serviceable to the English, not only in guarding a- 
gainst surprise in the night, but in tracking the ene- 
30 



234 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

my to his secret haunts in the mountains and caves. 
— Notwithstanding all these means of annoyance, 
the Maroons increased and became more formidable 
in 1730, under an able black general named Cudjoe, 
who gained great renown among them. 

In 1787, the British embarked from the Musquito 
shore, two hundred of the Musquito tribe of Indians, 
and landed them at Jamaica, to hunt down the 
Gudjoe men after their own mode of hostility, " bush- 
fighting," or ambuscade. 

In 1738, Governor Trelawney made overtures of 
peace to the Maroons, who, worn down by flimine, 
fatigue, and the assaults of their numerous foes, ac- 
cepted the English proposals. The articles of pacifi- 
cation commenced in the following words :— 

" In the name of God, amen. Whereas captain 
Cudjoe, captain Accompong, captain Johnny, captain 
Cuffee, captain Q,uaco, and several other negroes, 
their dependents and adherents, have been in a state 
of war against our sovereign lord the king," &c. &c. 
The treaty consisted of fifteen articles, in which fifr 
teen hundred acres of land was allowed to one body 
of the Maroons, who settled at Trelawney ; and one 
thousand acres to another body of them settled at Ac- 
compong, Crawford town, and Nannytown. 

They spoke a sort of broken English and Spanish, 
were extremely ignorant and superstitious, and, Hke 
the negroes of Guinea, believed in the prevalence 
of Obi, a species of pretended magic, and the super- 
natural power of Obeah men. 

From their mode of life and constant exercise, they 

possessed great bodily perfection, seldom beheld a- 

mong any other class of African or native blacks. 

Such was the situation of the Cudjoe men in 

1782, when I escaped from Jamaica. 

I may as well add what has since befallen them. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 235 

An article in the treaty of pacification with captain 
Cudjoe, in 1738, had made the Maroons amenable to 
the British law in cases of murder,tneft, &c. commit- 
ted against the buckras, or whites. In 1705, soon 
after the dreadful scenes in the island of St. Domin- 
go, now called Hayti, two Maroons were tried for 
theft, convicted, and punished by being publickly 
whipped at Trelawney town. This occasioned an in- 
surrection, which threatened a repetition of the same 
scenes in Jamaica, which had taken place at St. Do- 
mingo. The English negro slaves, however, hated 
the Cudjoe men or Maroons too fervently even to 
join them in endeavoring to gain their own freedom. 

The Maroons in 1795 consisted of about 1600 men, 
women, and children ; but the insurrection was lim- 
ited to the Trelawney Maroons, the descendants of 
Cudjoe and the negroes under his command, who 
were particularly called Cudjoe men. 

The whole of the Accompong Maroons declared in 
favor of the whites, or refused to Jight the buckras. 

Fifty-eight years had elapsed since the pacifica- 
tion with Gen. Cudjoe ; yet this long period of peace 
had not enfeebled the Maroons, who resumed the war 
with fresh vigor and cruelty. But the British estab- 
lished lines extending twenty miles in length through 
glades and over heights, till the Cudjoe men were 
reduced to great straits, and pent up in their princi- 
pal strong hold, called the Cockpits ; a sort of valley 
or dell, surrounded by steep precipices and broken 
rocks, and by mountains of piodigious height ; in 
the caverns of which they had secreted their women 
and children, and deposited their ammunition. The 
Cockpits could be reached only by a path down a 
steep rock, one hundred and fifty feet, almost in per- 
pendicular height, and totally inaccessible to the 
whites : but the Cudjoe men, having been habituated 



236 REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

to employ their naked feet in climbing up trees an-^ 
precipices, easily surmounted this obstacle. Their 
principal suffering was from want of water. This 
they suppHed for some time in the leaves of the 
tillandsia maxima, or wild pine. This is not a tree, 
but a plant, which takes root on the body of a tree, 
commonly in the fork or great branches of the cotton 
tree, and, from the conformation of its leaves, catches 
and retains water from every shower. Each leaf 
resembles a spout, and has at its base a natural 
bucket or reservoir, which contains about a quart of 
water ; a wonderful provision of Divine Providence. 

But even this resource was at length exhausted ; 
and, to add to the terror of the Maroons, forty chas- 
seurs or Spanish hunters, chiefly people of colour,, 
with aboat one hundred Spanish dogs or bloodhounds 
arrived from Havana. These dogs, though no lar- 
ger than an English shepherd dog, were much 
dreaded by the Cudjoe men, the whole of whom 
surrendered to the British troops, in March, 1796, a- 
bout one year after the commencement of this second 
and last war. The Spanish dogs, whose keenness 
of scent, and long training, had made thus for- 
midable, were formerly used to get rid of the aborigi- 
nal Indians of Cuba, &c. who were cruelly hun- 
ted down and exterminated by the Spaniards. They 
are now generally employed in Cuba and South A- 
merica in the pursuit of wild bullocks, which are kill- 
ed for their hides ; the dogs driving the cattle from 
the heights and forests into the plains, where they 
are slaughtered by the chasseurs, or hunters. 

In June, 1796, ships having been provided for the 
occasion, six hundred Maroons or Cudjoe men, the 
remnant of these restless and cut-throat blacks, were 
transported from Jamaica to Halifax, for settlement 
m Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and Canada. 



OF EBENEZER FOX. 237 



DEFEAT OF THE COUNT DE GRASSB. 

On page 206, I have related the manner, in which 
I was impressed on board of a French seventy-four. 

Had I not made my escape, I should have una- 
voidably been an unwilling combatant in the memo- 
rable action, which was fought on the twelfth of 
April, 1782, between the Count de Grasse and Admi- 
ral Rodney. The following concise account of that 
engagement may not be uninteresting to the young. 

On the ninth of April, while the French fleet were 
to the leeward of the island of Dominica, they descri- 
ed the whole British fleet. The Count de Grasse 
had thirty-three sail of the line, one of which was 
the Ville-de-Paris, of one hundred and ten guns, the 
pride of the French navy ; five of eighty guns ; 
twenty-one of seventy-four ; and the rest of sixty-four 
guns. Besides the complete crews, there were on 
board of the fleet between five and six thousand land 
troops. The British fleet, under Admiral Rodney, 
consisted of thirty-six sail of the line ; one of which 
was of ninety-eight guns ; five of ninety ; twenty of 
seventy-four ; and the rest of sixty-four. The action 
began about nine o'clock in the morning. After a 
furious battle, in which much bravery was displayed 
on both sides, the French admiral thought it expedi- 
ent to withdraw from the action, and effected a re- 
treat. After the English had repaired their ships, 
which had been much damaged, they commenced 
their pursuit of the French, and came up with them 
in the vicinity of the islands of Gaudaloupe, Domini- 
ca, the Saints, and Marigalante. After exhibiting 
much nautical skill on both sides, in order to obtain 
advantageous positions, the hostile fleets commenced 
their attack, on the twelfth of April, at six in the 
morning. The battle lasted with unprecedented fury 



2^ REVOLUTIONARY ADVENTURES 

till seven at night. Broadsides were exchanged with 
such rapidity, that the fleets were concealed in the 
dense smoke, and nothing was visible but the blaze 
from their guns. It is stated that Admiral Rodney's 
ship, the Formidable, and the Ville-de-Paris, each 
discharged upwards of eighty broadsides, during this 
fierce encounter. The English frequently attempted 
to break the line of the French, but were as often 
repulsed. Finally the French fleet were thrown into 
disorder by the sudden change of the wind, of which 
the English, taking the advantage, bore down upon 
them, and penetrated their line. The English got to 
the windward of the enemy, and, forming into a 
compact line, dealt death and destruction to the 
French, who were now compelled to fight in detach- 
ed groups. Nothing could exceed the desperation 
exhibited by the French. Although most of their 
largest ships were ^i^e complete wrecks, and in a 
sinking condition, tbe^commanders nailed their col- 
ours to the stumps oHhe masts, and obstinately refu- 
sed to surrender. Tf^Count de Grasse showed no 
disposition to yield, al^iy»ugh his ship was dismasted 
and leaking in every part. After having fought for 
ten hours, he still kept up a destructive fire. Six 
British ships were pour^ig a terrible fire into the 
Ville-de-Paris, but the^jfcmt would not surrender. 
Admiral Hood, in the Hmleur of ninety guns, joined 
in the attack, still the indomitable spirit of the French 
commander was not conquered ; and it was not till 
he saw his fleet in the power of the enemy ; his men 
destroyed, and all hope extinct, that he finally and 
reluctantly consented to surrender. 

1 had great reason to rejoice that I was liberated 
from the necessity of participating in this terrible en- 
gagement. 

THE END." -' 



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